"Beautiful. . . . Throughout the collection, Roy weaves together science, nature, personal narrative, literature, sociology, and more to keep the reader turning pages--and to turn us all into tree-lovers."--Kateri Kramer, The Rumpus

"Not just a meditation on trees but also an exploration of how they have functioned in literary history, theology, and this world of ours."--Emily Temple, Literary Hub

"The takeaway from How I Became a Tree might simply be: We would all do well by ourselves and for the world if we lived more like plants. . . . [Such] insights may appear, at first, as simply philosophical or even fantasy, but this is a book for looking deeper."--Jon M. Sweeney, Spirituality & Practice

A Publishers Weekly Holiday Gift Guide 2021 selection

A Spiritual & Practice Best Book of 2021

"Sumana Roy has written--grown--a radiant and wondrous book, which roots and branches in complex, provocative ways, helping us recognize trees for the 'strange strangers' they are, companion-citizens with which we think and remember, yes, but also alien beings that draw love, hate, indifference, and even lust from us humans."--Robert Macfarlane, author of The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot

"This is one of the most original, delightful, inspiring books I have read in a long time. It will enchant and move the reader with its unique imaginative mindset, its humorous touches, and its defiance of convention."--Mary Evelyn Tucker, Yale University

"A poetic, probing meditation on how trees are, to paraphrase Lévi-Strauss, 'good to think with.' Sumana Roy gives us a fresh and surprising look at a topic as old as the Epic of Gilgamesh, or to put it another way, almost as old as the oldest living trees."--Robert Moor, bestselling author of On Trails: An Exploration

"A genuinely exceptional work that is as poetic as it is scholarly--quirky, enlightening and enriching."--Chandak Sengoopta, Birbeck College, University of London

Praise for Sumana Roy:

"A one-of-its-kind meditation. . . . Deliciously engaging."--Supriya Sharma, Hindustan Times

"Sumana Roy's writing brims with rare originality."--Areeb Ahmad, The Medley

"An ode to all that is unnoticed, ill, neglected and yet resilient. . . . Roy's true spiritual ancestor . . . is Annie Dillard. . . . Both Roy and Dillard craft remarkable, poignant sentences. Both have the ability to make mundane situations lead up to profound, even apocalyptic consequences."--Rini Barman, Wire India

"Sumana Roy's book shimmers like silver poplar leaves."--Sylvia Straube, Frankfurter Rundschau

"A book like a jungle: from the wide sky to sticky leaves and unsightly thorns, everything is included."--Susanne Billig, Deutschlandfunk Kultur