Anne McAlpine (Goodreads Reviewer)
This lovely book was just what I needed to read at a time when the news is so full of doom and gloom. The theme of The Five Acre Forest couldn't be more timely. The Isle of Man born author tells the true story of how she made a leap of faith twenty years ago and settled in New Zealand after visiting the country while working in Indonesia. The reason she felt drawn to make the move was the discovery of an eroded lake side dune a place she felt drawn to. Two decades and a thousand trees later she had created a five acre forest on the dune. The story of the forest, the landscape and the flora and fauna that live there is a magical one. It's a personal story, but it's also universal reaching back, as it does, into ancient times and addressing issues about the current health and future of our planet. It's about treasuring what we have and planning ahead for a future we won't see but hopefully the generations coming after us will. And it's inspiring too as it encourages us all to take action however small to nurture planet Earth.
