"As a celebrated storyteller, Susan Strauss intuitively understands how human beings are hardwired from our evolutionary history, from our biology, that cellular net stronger and even more subtle than spider silk to connect our roots through the act of telling stories, which is a literal expiration, a breathing out of spirit. It is a hot circuit firing every aspect of how we primates store and process the universe in our minds, soul, blood, and bones. Susan ‘gets’ that everything in the world around us is translated into a bright arc of story that ignites the sky in a thunderstorm, a blinding flash followed by that concussion of recognition that we are all that hero with a thousand faces, and that all human history is autobiography. We are the story that is being told, and the act of telling story has been and will always be the excavation of our own ancient spirit housed like wildfire blazing through the bodies of those who became shadows long, long ago; relations who are with us now like the stars at night, and those who have not yet come into this world, and will not until we sing their names in that language of light."
—Shelton Johnson, Acclaimed Storyteller, Author, and Interpreter
Susan Strauss expertly weaves myth, storytelling, and science in this gem of a book. She includes the natural cycles of life and death seen in nature and mirrored in the dance all humans encounter throughout our history. This connection of people and plants encourages our own personal desire to sink our hands in the rich, cool soil of the garden and grow something miraculous.
—Christine Capra, Coauthor and Editor, The Profession and Practice of Horticultural Therapy (CRC Press, 2019); Cofounder of the Horticultural Therapy Institute
Reading this book was like chatting to Susan Strauss and Ian Edwards for a weekend. What greater joy could there be for someone with a passionate belief and interest in the life-sustaining power of stories? More than that, they arrived with the glorious images by Gretta Johnson. What a party. What a gorgeous book.
—Susan Cross, Director, TellTale, UK
Susan Strauss is the “gold standard” of storytelling. Whether on the page or on the stage, she never fails to kindle the fire of memory and recall to us the oldest wisdom and most practical knowledge. She is both profound and delightful, mesmerizing and authoritative, deeply rooted in the study of science and wonderfully gifted in the art form of storytelling. Like Scheherazade of old, Susan Strauss brings the medicine of story to us on a dark night of the soul, reminding us all of creation is pulsing with intelligence, wonder and healing.
–Will Hornyak, Storyteller
In "Tree with Golden Apples," Susan Elizabeth Strauss has created a "world" where imaginatively told tree stories from around the world, scientific information about trees related to each story, and guidance for storytellers are all wrapped in a cloak of vibrant illustrations perfectly setting off the printed content. The artistry of this beautifully integrated book welcomes---and inspires--storytellers, parents and children, those interested in marrying literature and science, interpreters and, of course, lovers of trees.
Linda Sussman, Ph.D. author, The Speech of the Grail: A Journey Toward Speaking That Heals and Transforms
