The Arrow Tree

Book excerpt: Award-winning professor and author Phyllis Weliver was in the first wave to fall ill with long COVID. Moving from the city to a woodland cottage above a Michigan lake in order to regain health, Weliver reflects on the process of integrating mind/body health with the natural world. As she recovers from long-haul COVID, the author draws inspiration from forest bathing, traditional Odawa and Ojibwe culture, ancient Chinese philosophy, and British and American literature. While this memoir may be of special interest to those dealing with chronic illness, Weliver's narrative ultimately addresses how we might all mend from the bruising pace of modern life. CONTENTS: Preface, Introduction, (1) Water Lingers, (2) The Arrow Tree, (3) Sleeping Bear, (4) Mother Earth, (5) The Golden Ship, (6) Coyote, (7) The Ha-Ha, (8) Two Cranes, (9) Dry Cabin, (10) Chipmunk, (11) Bald Eagle, (12) Crow and Deer, (13) Black Ice, (14) Squirrel and Cedar, (15) Snowstorm, (16) Making Tracks, Appendix A: Our Long COVID; Appendix B: Michigan Tribal Culture