Book – “Eat the Trees” by Linda Runyon

Linda Runyon “roughed it” in a homestead in the Adirondacks for many years, learning to depend on the land to provide her family’s sustenance. The very trees around her became at once a source of food, inspiration and other survival needs.

Let Linda show you this way of life through instruction and anecdote so that you, too, may find the sustenance you need from the trees.

Black & white Perfect Bound, 98 pages profusely illustrated. Includes a study guide for greater certainty and confidence.

Except from the book…

The story had been written many times when the Adirondack night blew winds causing temperatures to dive to 30 or 40 degrees BELOW zero, and all the canning jars burst and I was completely out of my normal food supply for the winter. I started my usual prayer with deep desperation– I asked God,” OK now that the food is gone, what do I do next?” Through my fear, I always received an answer in words typed across the forefront of my brain sorta above my eyes. There was no sound to the answer, just emphatic letters:. WHAT DID THE IROQUOIS DO FOR CENTURIES IN FROZEN WINTER? I was off and ploughing through deep snow in the woods for a pine branch. That was my first scraping of bark and taste of chewy-when-hot, stir-fried with garlic salt…Shredded bark!!

Parts of trees, such as the frozen buds caught in winter’s grip, were eaten in more than one way that winter, and I added other types of trees along the way. Frozen sap from balsam and pine became the CANDY for our delicacy in the winter.
In spring, the answers came faster than I could cook them. We ate raw throughout our working day. Thus, the tiny leaves and buds of MAPLE, BEECH, BIRCH and the fruits of the trees & how to use them — NOW, the world was complete for me.
I WAS at peace with my whole environment. Below GROUND, ON GROUND and NOW WAY ABOVE GROUND, the supply was ENDLESS, and still is for all of us. I knew then how my predecessors made it through the winter.

What others have said about the book…

“Linda Runyon’s book Eat the Trees! will become a wonderful asset to all survivalists and campers alike.”
—Jean Selman, survivalist, wild food enthusiast

“Linda’s writing style and her combination of story telling and instruction make Eat the Trees! a delightful read and a treasure of survival wisdom.”
—Steve Arnold, forager, permaculture enthusiast

“I love that Linda has thought to extend the usefulness of this book’s information by creating a study guide. The educational potential of each chapter is maximized with additional studies of outside resources relating to that chapter’s topic.”
—Kendra Plummons, radio host, parent

“Linda has lit yet another ‘wild fire’ and I will never be the same. Trees are such an amazing gift because they offer so much food all in one place!”
—Holly Drake, wild food consultant, forager & chef