Water, Wood & Wild Things

Escaping the rat race and relocating to somewhere far away and peaceful: it’s an eternal daydream for so many of us. In Hannah Kirshner’s case, she made it happen, bolting from Brooklyn on a whim and moving to Yamanaka, a mountainous sanctuary in Japan. In doing so, Kirshner went backward in time, connecting with and learning from foragers, farmers, and crafters who were quietly, patiently doing the work of keeping old traditions alive. Food plays a starring role in this luminous book, which serves as both an account of Kirshner’s journey to Japan and a paean to the beauty of miso-cured eggs, mugwort, pickled plums, tea ceremonies, and tiny vegetable gardens.