All are welcome to drop into Laurel Hill’s monthly book club discussions!

In March we’ll meet in the Funeral Home at Laurel Hill West to discuss the memoir The Way Through the Woods: On Mushrooms and Mourning. 

After 32 years of partnership, the unexpected death of Long Litt Woon’s husband  leaves her adrift in grief. She signs up for a beginner’s course on mushrooming and finds, to her surprise, that the pursuit of mushrooms rekindles her zest for life.

The Way Through the Woods tells the story of parallel journeys: an inner one, through the landscape of mourning, and an outer one, into the fascinating realm of mushrooms—resilient, adaptable, and essential to nature’s cycle of death and rebirth. From idyllic Norwegian forests and urban flower beds to the sandy beaches of Corsica and New York’s Central Park, Woon uncovers an abundance of surprises often hidden in plain sight: salmon-pink Bloody Milk Caps, which ooze red liquid when cut; delectable morels, prized for their earthy yet delicate flavor; and bioluminescent mushrooms that light up the forest at night.

Along the way, she discovers the warm fellowship of other mushroom obsessives, and finds that giving her full attention to the natural world transforms her, opening a way for her to survive loss, reengage with life, and see herself anew.