FINALLY, someone said it: mushrooms are gay. This book combining nature/science writing and queer theory is... extremely my shit. I am THE target audience. And it delivered! From the queer community of fungi to the deeply misunderstood slug to the gender variance of eels, Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian explores the parallels between LGBTQ+ identities and some of the plants and animals that reflect them. For any queer readers who like to forage or birdwatch, BUY THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW, you'll thank me later.

This is my favourite kind of non-fiction - part memoir, part deep dive into the natural world, with a hefty sprinkling of queerness. I find the world of fungi absolutely fascinating and it was inspiring to see Kaishian's fungal journey! I'm inspired to find my own "sit spot" now.

"And I hope that in sharing these stories, you too will feel the closeness of the earth, the lack of space between our cells, and the memory of each other".

I loved everything about this book. Euphoria is the right term; you can feel Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian's enthusiasm for nature at every page. She starts with her childhood, observing snakes and insects, her time studying biology, including under the mentorship of Robin Wall Kimmerer, a summer spent in China studying Chinese medicine... There's a lot about queerness and her own identity and reflections about her own gender (she seems to be using she/her/hers; I apologise if this is incorrect), about fitting in and wanting to be invisible. There are some really dark passages about trauma and SA. But overall what shines is how much she loves nature - not "just" the fluffy stuff, you feel her love and empathy for every living creature, even the more humble or the less photogenic. That book was well-written and poetic but not cheesy,.and I highlighted so many passages...
I'll be keeping an eye on what she publishes next and I'll certainly be reading it.

The way the author writes about nature and the innate queerness is marvelous and beautiful. As soon as I started listening to this one I knew it would be something I loved.

This book uses queer examples from nature including mushrooms, eels, ravens and crows, swamps, snakes, cicadas, grasslands and frogs to illustrate how the world isn’t a binary world but one with plenty of spaces between to be explored and appreciated. I loved the general discussion and its connection to her own life and I am honestly obsessed with her work now. If you have any interest in nature or the queerness of it all, I HIGHLY recommend this one as soon as you can get your hands on it!!!!

Thank you to NetGalley for this e-ARC.

A book that spoke to my wild, queer heart.

Kaishian's writing is candid, open about what it is to be labeled as "other," when nature itself is filled with acceptance. In the beginning, Kaishian writes of a classmate whose father regularly hunted down the snakes on their family's property; they were proud to protect their home from such creatures. When reading this passage, I was brutally reminded how queer people are labeled as dangerous and are systemically harmed in order to maintain "peace."

Like Kaishian, my childhood was spent in the wilderness. I remember tadpole-hunting, fishing, bird-watching, and fossil-finding. I would wade through the murkiness of a pond or the swiftness of a creek just to snatch a tadpole, a minnow if I was lucky. Those activities were when I was most at peace. My "strangeness" just wasn't welcome amongst my peers. So, I was often alone in this enjoyment. Reading this novel helped me realize that I was not the only one who appreciated nature's plethora of diversity.

Forest Euphoria is a breathtaking memoir that weaves together science, personal reflection and deep reverence for the natural world. Dr Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian’s ability to draw powerful parallels between human experience and the life of the forest is nothing short of extraordinary. Her reflections as a queer woman with ADHD enrich the narrative, offering rare and vulnerable insights that ground the book in authenticity. This memoir reads like a love letter to nature and a profound meditation on identity, resilience and interconnectedness.

Absolutely stunning prose, lyrical without losing clarity, and deeply evocative without ever feeling overwrought. I'm mesmerised by Patty's ability to bring fungi, forests and ecosystems to life while simultaneously sharing her own life story. This is a book that I’ll definitely be gifting to friends.

A powerful reminder of how deeply human lives are entangled with the wild beauty of the world around us.

I don't often read memoir and I was expecting a slightly different focus, but (among the many things this book is) the deep dive into the sex lives of the small and slimy was captivating, and many aspects of the author's story were relatable and moving. It's a story made of patched together essays that flow rapidly from theme to concept and rapidly back around to take on more layers. Although my own interest wasn't piqued enough to finish, it's because this kind of deep dive into most anyone's life isn't a compelling prospect for me. Let everyone else's reviews speak louder than mine.

A tender, heartfelt exploration of queerness in nature mixed with personal reflection. This is my favorite type of non-fiction - scientific fact mixed with the author's history, reflections, musings, revelations, etc. Eels, crows, slugs, fungi, this covered a wide range throughout nature, showing similarities to us as humans in terms of sex and gender. This was beautiful and harsh, much like nature itself.

I'd recommend this for fans of How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler, or Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Throughout her childhood, Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian developed an affinity for her natural surroundings, particularly for snakes, slugs, and bugs. Their experience as lesser-understood creatures of the animal kingdom, tucked away in ground cover and the night, mirrored Kaishian’s own. “Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature” (Spiegel & Grau, 2025) integrates Kaishain’s narrative, queer theory, and development as a mycologist to proffer delicious and curious details about nature surrounding us.

Dr. Kaishian, curator of mycology at the New York State Museum, presents numerous extraordinary queer ecological findings, including the sexual morphology of cassowary birds, the treatment of swamps as a litmus test for societal health, and the expanse of mutually beneficial relationships that fungi enter into with plants. As a neurodivergent and queer educator, Kaishian emphasizes that teaching about the regularity of queerness in nature is ethical, objective, and better science—especially when we acknowledge cultural bias that limits the information in nature we are willing (or unwilling) to share.

Readers of Margaret Renkl, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Robert Macfarlane, Anna L. Tsing, Wendell Berry, and James Crews might enjoy Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian’s “Forest Euphoria.”

Thank you to Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian, Spiegel & Grau, and NetGalley for the eARC!

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC! All opinions are my own.*

I feel a little conflicted with this one, honestly. In my nonfiction reads, it's important for me personally to learn something or otherwise come away with something. While I was happy to read Dr. Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian's story, I'm not so sure I "got" anything from this book. There are facts here, definitely, but they are thrown at you in a way that I found to be pretty overwhelming as your average layperson. It feels a bit infodump-y and I didn't love how I was being given this information.

Also. I'm not MAD this is a memoir. HOWEVER. Idk if this is a new thing publishers are doing now or if it's just something I'm noticing more frequently, but this book is definitely a memoir. It is not marketed as such. This is marketed as a book of essays about the queerness of nature. And now I know more about Dr. Ononiwu Kaishian than I do about any mushrooms. Which isn't AT ALLLLL what I thought I was going to get. Memoirs are HUGE market!!! They will sell, guys! You don't have to hide them in stuff secretly! Just say what you mean on the tin, P L E A S E.

I also want to specifically call out: there is a huge trigger warning in the first chapter of this book (the title is about snails, I have since forgotten it) for <spoiler>childhood sexual abuse</spoiler> that is not mentioned at ANY point before it shows up. It just happens, no warning. So just also know that, I guess.

Anyway, to conclude, this wasn't much for me but I can see where a good amount of people will like this for sure, hence the rating that is otherwise higher than I would typically make it.

This was a beautiful, mind expanding read. Mixing both autobiography, the experience of queer life and the natural history of animals, plants, fungi and birds, I found this incredibly moving. I was worried that it might be too scientific for me, but it was engaging, easy to read without dumbing down and gorgeously engaging.

Wow this book was incredible. *Forest Euphoria* by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian is a vibrant celebration of the queerness inherent in the natural world, blending memoir, science, and lyrical prose. Drawing from her experiences growing up in the Hudson Valley, Kaishian explores the diverse and often overlooked lives of fungi, slugs, and eels, revealing the fluidity and complexity of nature's systems. Her writing invites readers to see beyond human-centered perspectives, offering a refreshing and inclusive view of the interconnectedness of all life forms. This book is a must-read for those seeking a deeper, more inclusive connection to the natural world. I loved this one!

Forest Euphoria felt exactly like I was sat down for coffee with the author, listening enthralled while she spoke about this topic she is so clearly passionate about. Yes, it could perhaps have done with more structure*, but the train of thought through each topic was more than clear enough to follow.

Prior to reading this book I had just finished Raising Hare, which had the same manifesto of exploring and deepening our relationship with nature and the creatures around us. The difference here is that the creatures Kaishian feels an affinity with are not ones conventionally thought of as cute, gracious, or even nice. They’re often considered nuisances or pests, but she sees the beauty in them. By highlighting the way other creatures are different from us, rather than similar, she emphasises the way human concepts such as gender are completely arbitrary, and encourages us to be amazed by these animals.

I do think a little more structure would have been of use, particularly given the way memoir and essay are woven together. There was slightly too much meandering for the book to have had its maximum effect, but it was still a fascinating read with a very moving personal tale woven in. I think anyone would read this book and finish with a newfound appreciation for the world around them. (The whole passage about cicada mating seasons will never cease to astound me!)

*It is worth noting that the chapter divisions did not appear on my ePub copy, which I didn’t realise until quite late on. I have tried to take that into account!

I received a free copy for an honest review.

Forest Euphoria is a blend of memoir and nature reflection. I found myself reading this one quite slowly. After each chapter, I just wanted to sit with what I had read.
So much of this book spoke to me. Since working outside more, I've gotten to appreciate all the intricacies of our natural world. Nature is not just queer its constantly changing. Forest Euphoria helped me find new sparks of joy in the world. Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian gave me new ways to think about the world, how queer the natural world is, and how removing our binary human view of nature helps one see nature for all that it is. I particularly loved the reverence that Ononiwu Kaishian uses when talking about all facets of nature. I truly saw the magic and wonder of each and every topic.
I found this very reflective, and I left with new ways to view not only nature but myself and my relationship with nature. My identity has always been closely tied to nature, and I've always loved what others find weird, such as snakes and mushrooms. Anyone who might want to learn more about the intersection of nature, queerness, and culture will also love the journey that this book takes you on.

This was a very mellow read and overall I quite enjoyed it. I appreciated the theme of the queerness of nature, the anti-colonial lens and the link to actual science and biology. While there was a good balance of memoir and science, toward the end I found the pacing was off, making it more difficult for me to connect with the writing and the author. The audio narration was well done.

I recommend this to folks who are interested in reading about nature and biology through the lens of politics, philosophy and the personal.

Thank you to Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian, NetGalley and Spiegel and Grau Publishers for providing me with a free ebook in exchange for an honest opinion.

The author is a mycologist (fungus scientist) as well as an enthusiast of all of nature in its messiest, most unprofitable, most vibrant glory. In this wonderful little book, the author draws calmness, confidence, healing and self-knowledge from the wild areas around her homes, from childhood through to adulthood. In her childhood her family encouraged her to get to know the swamp nearby and to delight in the residents there. When trauma was visited upon her at a young age, it was this love of nature that helped her to cope and eventually led her to a career in mycology. Kaishian also turns to the wild to help her understand her sense of gender dysphoria. Throughout the book there are examples given of wonderful creatures in nature that do not occur in merely two assigned genders, but myriad of possible genders some of which change through the creature's life, some of which occur within a creature simultaneously, and many which have far more than a mere two genders with which to reproduce.

This is a wonderful book reminding us all that we do not own any part of nature and that the naturally occurring plants and animals in our habitats have every bit as much right to live and thrive as we have. It is a reminder that needs to be repeated now more than ever as global climate change (and global climate change deniers), overpopulation, rampant deforestation, water pollution, and high rates of extinction threaten the future of both Homo sapiens and all other life as we know it.

An excellent addition into the ranks of queer nature memoirs that have come out (ha ha ) in the past few years. While I thought the transitions between the informative sections and the author's personal narratives could have been smoother, I overall appreciated her perspective as a mycologist, as mushroom and plants are not the part of nature I generally am drawn to.

I enjoyed the themes and flow of this book. I like books that address topics of nature. The cover initially caught my attention.

Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian's Forest Euphoria beautifully strikes the balance between informational and engaging, blending memoir with nature essays expertly. Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature tenderly explores the intersection of Mycology and the human experience. Told through vignettes of patricia's ability to find home in the culverts and swamps of Hudson Valley, this work examines the ways in which the queerness of nature informed the author's thoughts on her own intersectional otherness as someone who is Armenian, Irish, queer, neurodivergent, a trauma survivor. Kaishian finds herself in the intimacy of slugs and the diversity of fungi. Above all, I enjoyed having the opportunity to see such a wonderful scientific explanation of the field of mycology, especially one so heavily enriched with personal connection and significance. I must say, Forest Euphoria may have the strongest introduction I have ever read into a nonfiction work. Gorgeous and grounding, a tour de fungi!

Patricia has single-handedly ensured I will be making many a nature journaling trip this summer!

As always, thank you dearly to Spiegel & Grau, as well as NetGalley, for the advanced reader's copy of this work! I couldn't wait to get my hands on this work, and within a page had recommended it to someone!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.
Maybe it’s just my mood at this point, but I wasn’t expecting the constant switching between serious memoir and nonfiction science text, and I just couldn’t get into it.