Memory of Trees: A Daughter's Story of a Family Farm (University of Minnesota Press, 2010) is the story of a farm in east central Minnesota—Pine County—four miles west of the St. Croix River.
A harvest accident triggers an urban woman’s search to understand her attachment to her family’s farm and the reasons—conflict, culture, economics, and illness—that it was sold. Her search through memory leads to the alpine valley of their ancestors, ruined farm towns of the Roman Empire in North Africa, and ancient Biblical texts about land and exile. The relationship of forests, farms, and migration in Western civilization is uncovered through the example of this farm in the “golden triangle” between the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers. On the journey to understanding, trees provide touchstones, connections to sacred and classical history—companions leading the way forward.
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