This is just a delight of curiosities and love of the earth. I thoroughly enjoyed this and some of the tidbits that I learned.

A Lush, Thought-Provoking Celebration of Nature and Fungi

Forest Euphoria by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian is a mesmerizing and deeply insightful exploration of the natural world, blending science, philosophy, and poetry in a way that is both accessible and profoundly moving. Kaishian’s ability to weave ecological knowledge with a deep appreciation for the interconnectedness of all living things is enthralling.

Her writing is rich and evocative, transporting readers into the hidden wonders of fungi and forests, revealing how these often-overlooked organisms shape our world in ways both grand and microscopic.

This book is perfect for nature lovers, science enthusiasts, and anyone who finds solace in the beauty of the natural world. Kaishian’s passion is infectious, making Forest Euphoria a joy to read and a reminder of the magic that exists all around us. Highly recommended for those who love books that expand the mind and nourish the soul.

This book is... WOW. It's a euphoric experience to read and is literally on the short list of books that have affected me so profoundly along with the work of Banu Subramaniam and Robin Wall Kimmerer. Books like this will completely challenge and change how you see the world -- or at the very least, how you experience nature. I've highlighted the heck out of it and cannot wait for its publication so I can add a hard copy to my personal library.

Although this is a fantastic read for the layperson and I'm aware she's written some academic texts, this is also a wonderful text for students, especially those being introduced to queer theory and feminist science studies. Interspersed with personal anecdotes and stories from the author's past are observations that are just... mindboggling in their simplicity and truth, despite the fact that many would consider this "radical" thinking if they ever consider it at all. It's not.

I'll be recommending this book to as many people as I possibly can. IT IS A MUST-READ.

Netgalley, I can't thank you enough for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review, and for introducing me to one of my new favorite authors and thinkers. I'm thoroughly in awe. I'm changed.

The best part? I'm not even done yet.

Memoir of a queer mycologist combined with science and facts about nature. Beautifully written and the section about seeking purple/other species also looking for pleasure and beauty made me emotional on NJ Transit. I think I was expecting more science writing and feel like I still need to find an overview of queer ecology, but I really enjoyed this.

There's been many comparisons to Braiding Sweetgrass but I would recommend this for fans of How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

thrilling and awesome book about nature and your connection with the natural world! discusses the wild and varying communities of nature. 5 stars. tysm for the arc/

“There is value in the in-between and I categorized even in a culture that rewards certainty.”

Part memoir, part fun fact vomitorium, part love letter to the world. It covered so many different elements of history, culture, animals, bacteria…but never felt bogged down by details or overwhelming in scope. And Kaishian’s writing is both elegant and accessible. What a wonderful treat in every way.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was such a lovely read. Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian is a mycologist with a way of connecting with the natural world reminiscent of Robin Wall Kimmerer. I am a MAJOR fan of fungus and of queerness, and this book had a lot of both. I loved the reflections on the multiple ways sex and gender exist in nature, with some flowers moving through different genders throughout their lifetimes. It is so important that queerness is one of the most natural ways of being and that the idea that there are only two binary sexes is a very limiting way of viewing the world which doesn't align with the biological reality of many species. I especially resonated with the concept of sit spots in this book - I have been a passionate user of iNaturalist and love noticing how the life in my neighborhood changes over the seasons, but hadn't considered choosing just one spot to return to again and again. I will definitely be incorporating that into my practice. Nature teaches us that change is the only constant and that nothing - loss or bounty - lasts forever. May we all be more open to seeing what comes next and to being more present in what is.

4.5 stars.

Thanks so much to Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian and Spiegel & Grau for this ARC through NetGalley. Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queernesss of Nature will be out May 27th, 2025. Preorder it now!

I enjoyed every page of this! Highly recommend this book to anyone interested in nature & all things queer.

This book was absolutely incredible! A wonderful blend of memoir and science, “Forest Euphoria” urges us to look past our human binaries when studying or thinking about other creatures. I learned so much from this book, and I think everyone interested in gender, science, animals, or humanity should read it.

Thank you to the publisher and the author for approving me to read this as an ARC via netgalley!

i often find myself struggling with memoirs unless i can relate to something, and with only the queer experience to tie me in to this book, i was a little worried it would be tough to get through, but i was sooo wrong. this book is part memoir and part poetry, while weaving in the most gorgeous descriptions of nature i've ever read, and keeping me so interested that i read it all almost in one sitting. truly a feast for the soul and the mind. i'll be buying this one in print for sure.

This is a wonderful example of genre blending, where you can't see the boundaries of where one stops and the other begins, a sort of intentional mix-up. In the beginning, I was expecting a different type of narrative where examples of queerness in nature would be up front and center in the story, but I ended up enjoying the way the author presented this part with little moments sprinkled here and there. As someone who graduated with a STEM degree, I appreciate the author's willingness to push past the typical binaries seen in academia in an attempt to reframe how we think about and study the other beings we dwell on earth with.

If you've ever been the type of person to say, "Well, male shrimp can get pregnant" to shut up homophobic bastards, this is the book for you. Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian does an excellent job exploring the queer ecology of the universe alongside her own queer ecology– the understanding of herself as a fluid, queer natural being which adapts to her environments and natural surroundings. It was, in a strange way, a profoundly spiritual read for me. I felt as though, like the author, through understanding queer ecology, I could understand myself.

Equal parts a moving memoir of a queer individual and a profound exploration of queer mycology, Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian provides insight into how humans can learn acknowledge their place in nature and learn about themselves from the world around them.

Thank you to Spiegel & Grau and Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I will be purchasing this book and gifting it to all my friends because Forest Euphoria is a little bit of everything — part memoir, part poetry, part American history, part science lesson. And honestly? I loved every single part of it. The way it blends personal reflection with nature’s deep rhythms is stunning, and I’m already craving more. It’s the kind of book you want to revisit, to really sit with, and to share with others. I would give it 6 stars if I could.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

This is basically a memoir of a queer mycologist's journey. If you read it as a memoir, it is a really lovely example of the thing, lots of beautiful details of the natural world and personal growth, some interesting facts learned along the way. If you go in thinking that it is going to be a more technical or even pop-sci book that is largely about reproduction and sexuality in the non-human natural world, you will probably be disappointed, because that's not the focus.

And I think Kaishian is making the case fairly clearly, for those who need to hear it, that queerness is not just about who has what bits for the sex. If you're not someone who needed to hear it, there's still enough heart and personal detail to keep things interesting; if you are, maybe a great point of view to pick up and contemplate. But the fact that it's not a technical book of that sort is not an accident, it was not the goal, a broader sense of possibility is the goal.

Who doesn't want that, these days?

I loved the narrative of this book and how the author linked her own journey of self-understanding of gender and how the natural world is not dissimilar in this exploration as a means to adapt to the world around us.

FOREST EUPHORIA is such a wonderful read. It opened my eyes in the best way possible! Full of wisdom, hope, and delightful information, this is a must-read. Kaishian writes with both authority and insight. I love this type of non-fiction book that offers inspiration and says something hopeful about the world.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions in my review are 100% my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for a digital ARC of this book.

This one is for the frog-catchers, the birdwatchers, and anyone who's gotten down in the dirt for a better look at a plant or mushroom.

I had just finished Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass when I picked up Forest Euphoria and it proved to be the perfect follow-up. In this book, author Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian seamlessly blends science, politics and nature together...or perhaps she shows the reader how linked they are to begin with. Kaishian takes the reader along for her journey to become a mycologist, sharing how she reckoned with her queerness and cultural identity along the way.

If you liked Braiding Sweetgrass and The Entangled Life, be sure to preorder Forest Euphoria or pick it up upon its release in May.

Scattershot but mostly in a good way, I think: like you're listening to a friend ramble on about mushroom facts for a while. I found said facts interesting (though not groundbreaking) and the autobiographical bits, which came as a fairly sparse sprinkling, were compelling. When it comes to the intersection between those aspects, I was left wanting a little more. I feel like there's a lot of potential in the connective tissue between knowledge and the person seeking that knowledge (and how the pursuit and attainment shapes them over time), and in this case that seems particularly apt considering the book is exploring connections between the "natural" world and queerness, as explained by a queer scientist.

Alas, the elements of memoir, nature writing, science facts, and social commentary (a last minute mention of Mary Banning's work feels too fleeting and would have been an interesting focal point in its own right for a hybrid memoir) don't come together in the most cohesive way, and maybe I just wanted the memoir aspect to take more of a center stage as it offers a convenient framing device for everything else. Nevertheless, the book is lovely for what it is, so I shouldn't dwell too much on what it's not.

This was a really incredible read. Full of hope; the author’s optimism was great. I loved the rich details of nature and the writing really draws you in. More of a memoir than I initially expected and thought it would focus more on nature than science. It was still very interesting and is an important topic all that’s going on. I will be recommending this

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This book was a beautiful exploration of queer experience, not just for humans, but other animals as well. As someone who loves science, but didn’t study it excessively in college, I found the scientific information in the book to be very accessible and I was charmed by the author’s personal experiences and narratives intertwined with facts and information about animals and fungi.

I appreciate the opportunity to explore queerness from a completely different angle and different lens and highly recommend this book!