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!

Forest Euphoria was not what I expected, but that is likely because I set my expectations based upon erroneous assumptions. After I finished the book I looked at the blurb again, and I have to admit that it is everything it says it is.

This book does talk about queerness in nature, but not in the ways you’d expect. The queerness discussed here is found in glass eels and slugs and cicadas and mushrooms. And while I have always found the singing of the cicadas oddly beautiful, and paradoxically enough find mushrooms lovely to look at even while I don’t much care to eat them, I can’t say that I have ever given much thought to slugs or glass eels or lichen unless it was to consider their potential caloric or medicinal value, but I can guarantee you that I will now, every time I visit a wild space. Or, hell, my backyard, which is a little bit wild all on its own.

Author Patricia Kaishian clearly finds them all fascinating. And more, holds a deep and abiding affection and respect for them, which bleeds through in every word on these pages and is not only beautiful but endearing. And while I’m absolutely not saying that just because she seems to love crows as much as I do, I definitely enjoyed the section of the book devoted to them.

On a side note, I am heartened by how many of the books on science I have read recently have made note of the harm that European colonialism and patriarchal practices have caused, and how many have mentioned indigenous scientific practices and knowledge as well as the contributions of women. I’m well aware of the fact that I am more than likely seeing so much of this because I favor books written by women, queers, and BIPOC, but the simple existence of these books for me to read gives me a tiny kernel of hope.

As to this particular book, all I can really add is that I loved it. The writing transports you to the wild places the author describes, and if you’re like me and don’t get to visit them anywhere near as often as you’d like anymore, that is food for the soul. Turtle Island is in my blood and in my bone, and it is incredibly rare, in my experience, to feel a writer’s love for it in their words. At a time like this, when everything is turmoil, I found the author’s discussions of their ‘sit spaces’ soothing. And while I don’t feel the same kinship with the microscopic beings the author does, I have always found it in the untamed creatures we share this world with. And I, too, have taken comfort in their queerness; it’s what led me to read this book.

I’ll be honest, you probably have to be at least a little bit of a science nerd to enjoy this book. And an open-minded one at that, because honestly before this book I never would have expected to enjoy reading about fungi. But I very much did, and am actually a little bit sad to have finished it.

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am leaving a voluntary review.

Forest Euphoria is a book that defies categorization. This is a thoughtful and contemplative memoir that touches on science (botany, zoology, biology, ecology, geology...), history, philosophy, anthropology, psychology among others and then intersections between them. Kaishian talks about finding her space in the world literally and figuratively inviting the reader to consider a new framework for understanding how we fit into the natural environment, one that isn't necessarily mainstream though coming more to the forefront as we confront the impacts of and human role in climate change. Kaishian highlights parts of the plant and animal world that are often overlooked like lichen or eels or even vilified like fungi and snakes and her enthusiasm and excitement for what they do and how they contribute is infectious. While it's much more common to relegate the natural world into clean and neat boxes, Kaishian shows that there's a lot of fluidity, change and adaptation among lifeforms, something to acknowledge and celebrate. She leaves you with a lot to think about while leaving you space to appreciate the things around you. I found that she jumped from idea to idea throughout Forest Euphoria which sometimes disrupted the flow for me as a reader, but this also reflected how her mind connects points that might not be initially obvious. Overall I learned a lot and I'm excited that authors like Kaishian and Robin Wall Kimmerer (referred to several times in this book) are sharing a different worldview that will allow us to take better care of our environment.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for the e-arc!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

I decided to step out of my comfort zone (which lately consists mainly of historical fiction) and read something new and different through NetGalley. I am glad that I did. As a physician and former biochemist, I tend to take a pragmatic view of most things but I must say the author did a nice job of opening my eyes to the fluidity of nature and all things around us. This introspective book looks at nature from a different point of view; personally, curiously, spiritually, and cosmically without being too patronizing or preachy. The author, as a neurodivergent individual, explores her own inner self-questioning through her intensely personal relationship with nature or as she calls it 'eco-spirituality'. I suspect writing this was a cathartic experience for her. The book is well written and engaging, the bibliography at the end excellent, and despite being sometimes overly detailed, gave me new information about all sorts of fascinating creatures in nature and hopefully a better overall worldview.

A delightful book that is part memoir, part nature documentary. A lot to love about this book! Perfect for those who are queer and love nature!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. Absolutely adored the exploration of queer natures here, from eel reproduction to miniature fungi to the questions brought up by the author. Will be recommending this book to anyone interested in the intersection of nature and culture, as well as anyone interested in personal essays which involve scientific facts. So pleased to get to read this before publication! Was a quick read, too—the voice is highly compelling. 5/5 stars.

A beautiful and informative look into nature, and a reminder that things deemed "unnatural" by some, are just as natural as warmth from the sun and breaths from a creature.
I highly recommend reading this, even if you are just slightly intrigued by either studies of animals or sexuality and gender studies!