Shelter: A Love Letter to Trees
Written by Ada Limón
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
So many of us have a tree we treasure in our lives or a preferred stretch of woods to retreat to, especially during these long and confining pandemic years. Ada Limón, award-winning poet and beloved host of the popular podcast The Slowdown, has kept a catalog of cherished trees that have grounded and inspired her throughout her life; trees that have marked time and place and have expanded meaning about what it is to be alive on this planet. Here, in a piece that is equal parts a tribute to nature’s power and mystery, boldly confessional memoir, and honest reckoning with our world’s beauty and its many upheavals, she takes the reader on a tour tree by tree, from California to New York City, from Cape Cod to Kentucky.
There’s the grove of eucalyptus that recalls the sweet turbulence of first love; the mythic bay laurel, “sexed and sensual,” that fills the valley where Limón grew up; there are seeds of trees that traveled to the moon and back on Apollo 16 and are now fully grown and rooted here, acting as if they are no different from any other tree; the fruit trees—pear, peach, orange, apple—that “everyone in her bloodline” has picked to survive, and that her family now grows on their own land because “to own your own tree, to own the fruit you pick, is a big thing.” There are the trees—western hemlock and Sitka spruce—that have helped her through seismic losses, and others—like the otherworldly Yoshino cherry, whose life span is comparatively short—that remind us that everything has an end. And, crucially, there are the many benefits of trees: what they teach us about silence and stillness, about healing and hope.
In twenty-three intimate vignettes, Limón demonstrates, through the force of her passionate intelligence and stunning lyricism, how connected we are to nature and how it better connects us to ourselves and one another. She proves herself to be the visionary of biophilia we all need now, as we confront the ills of climate change. Like the very trees it celebrates, “Shelter: A Love Letter to Trees” is a sensory refuge, and in keeping with the best nature writing, it invites us to slow down in these turbulent and ever-accelerating times, and affirms, often with ecstasy, our place in a natural world that has shaped and sustained us over the centuries.
Editor's Note
Walk through the woods…
Take a leisurely walk through the woods and across the country in this homage to trees from U.S. poet laureate Limón. This personal essay — told in brief and bittersweet vignettes — pays respect to the power, beauty, and mystery of our strong and silent companions. “Shelter” is perfect to read in the shade of a tree on a summer day.
Ada Limón
Ada Limón is the twenty-fourth U.S. Poet Laureate as well as the author of The Hurting Kind and five other collections of poems. These include, most recently, The Carrying, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award and was named a finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, and Bright Dead Things, which was named a finalist for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Kingsley Tufts Award. Limón is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, and her work has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, and American Poetry Review, among others. Born and raised in California, she now lives in Lexington, Kentucky.
More audiobooks from Ada Limón
The Hurting Kind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Carrying: Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Shelter
Related audiobooks
World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Heartwood: The Art of Living with the End in Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Faraway World: Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Radiolab: The Feels Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Junket Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Radiolab: Journey Through The Human Body Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No One Here Is Like Me: Race, Family, and Fatherhood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Is Life: 10 Writers on Love, Fear, and Hope in the Age of Disasters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Land of Delusion: Out on the edge with the crackpots and conspiracy-mongers remaking our shared reality Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Radiolab: Mixtape: How The Cassette Changed The World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Uncertain Sea: Fear is everywhere. Embrace it. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Out of the Wreckage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Do You Know Who I Am?: Battling Imposter Syndrome in Hollywood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Letter to My Rage: An Evolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You're Cute When You're Mad: Simple Steps for Confronting Sexism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Summer of Fall: Gravity is a bitch, but I'm still standing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Way of Imagination Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Into the Zone: Essays on Opposites and Borders Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Orchard Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Writing into the Wound: Understanding trauma, truth, and language Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Barn at the End of the World: The Apprenticeship of a Quaker, Buddhist Shepherd Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Exotic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stimulus Wreck: Rebuilding After a Financial Disaster Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5People, Places, Things: My Human Landmarks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Moms Are Not Alright: Inside America's New Parenting Crisis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Only Living Girl on Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Quitting: Why I Left My Job to Live a Life of Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Nature For You
Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cactus Jack: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Sand County Almanac: And Sketches Here and There Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Roxane Gay & Everand Originals: My Year of Psychedelics: Lessons on Better Living Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Uncertain Sea: Fear is everywhere. Embrace it. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Inner Life of Animals: Love, Grief, and Compassion: Surprising Observations of a Hidden World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wolfish: Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell About Fear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beyond Coffee: A Sustainable Guide to Nootropics, Adaptogens, and Mushrooms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lives of Bees: The Untold Story of the Honey Bee in the Wild Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Underland: A Deep Time Journey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Elephant Whisperer: My Life With the Herd in the African Wild Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Venom Doc: The Edgiest, Darkest, Strangest Natural History Memoir Ever Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mind of Plants: Narratives of Vegetal Intelligence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5High Tide in Tucson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arthur: The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fox & I: An Uncommon Friendship Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Shelter
340 ratings32 reviews
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Dnf. Annoying audio. More memoir than tree science. Quit listening at the sex with a tree story.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A beautiful moving little collection of essays and reflections and stories. My favorite line is something like: People get sick of you writing about the same grief over and over, so sometimes you have to say you're writing about trees. Limon is a poet and her words here are lyrical and magical. A lovely listen, as she reads the work aloud herself.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5So precious. wow. i loved it so so much. thank you
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Go for a walk and listen to this. A meditation on trees, on being part of the environment and being in relationship to all that which is alive.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nicely done. A woman recalls key events in her life and connects them to the trees that she has loved.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Might have messed me up. So honest, soulful and bittersweet. Underrated.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The author reads a bit dull at times but overall, I love the vibe of the whole book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It’s a brilliant book! I mean the sheer idea of it is so precious to my poetic heart :) it was
a pleasure listening someone who truly understands the inner chemistry I experience quite often in regard to nature ! - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was a kindly written work that I thoroughly enjoyed
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beautiful, like walking through a forest of memories with the author.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A luminous hymn to trees and to life! Thank you Ada Limon for sharing this beautiful and heartfelt book on Scribd, my favorite reading platform.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5TBH, I hadn't heard of Ada Limon previously but I'm glad that I have now. Listening to get narrate this book of poetry has helped open me up to the idea of meditating since that's her listening felt while going for walks outside -- inspired to wonder the names of the trees that I saw and encouraged to engage with them more in the spirit of community.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Absolutely lovely. Some of the most beautiful writing/reading I’ve heard
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A lovely read to wake up to in the morning
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A nice listen and tribute to many kinds of trees and the stories remembered while being near them.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The poems are free verse. Her connection to trees is spiritual although she never says that. She brought out new aspects of our relationship with trees that are humbling and intriguing. Everyday I would listen to two poems. It's was a wonderful way to start my day.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I loved the fact the the author thought of writing about tress. It's impressing
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent. Poetic. Beautiful ❣️ Our love for trees captures our humanness.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It's nice and soft but could be more interesting. It becomes too personal as it develops and in my opinion doesn't provide shelter as I expected. Some parts were good enough.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beautiful messenger of the trees to the listener thank you
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book made me love trees more! I want to plant more trees in my garden
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lyrical and thought-provoking. I so enjoyed listening to Ada Limón’s gorgeous reading of her tree-centered reflections about her life. What Bonnie Tsui did for swimming, Limón has done for trees. Highly recommended.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What a beautiful book filled with thoughtful poetry. Loved that the poet read aloud. Well worth a listen.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book opens you up to the landscape of your own heart. I too have always loved trees and found myself listening closely to Ada Limon’s luminous chapters and reflecting on the trees in my own life that marked times and rites of passage. Listening to the audiobook of her beautiful voice from my phone under the shade of a small grove of hemlocks it transported. All 23 chapters floated by with great heart, poignancy, and precision. Brava!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I found this audiobook when I was having a bad day. Listening to it soothing me and made me feel grounded. I learned a lot about trees and plan to spend more time with them! I also plan to read (or listen) to more of her books! It made me realize how much I need to spend more time in nature…to feel the earth’s energy…and maybe talk & listen to a tree or two.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5i so enjoyed listening to ms limón narrate this essay. i love trees and i loved the way ms limón divulged personal and intimate experiences as they related to trees - or as trees related to the stories.
sadly, none of my reading friends have scribd nor are they very interested in listening to audiobooks. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The second chapter “Hug a Tree” is brilliant…so concentrated and dense and alive like the outer ring of a tree trunk that carries sap
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The stories of her father and her insights on trees. The author reading gives poignancy
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beautifully written - so many ways in which we cherish trees. One normally doesn't think of these things ... a great reflection of your own life with the interaction of trees (these poems provoke the memory).
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I think trees are regal. They are giving beings. Never asking or demanding of us. Humans all over the world should listen to them.
Let's plant more for our future future generations!!1 person found this helpful