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Shelter: A Love Letter to Trees
Ada Limón, award-winning poet and beloved host of the popular podcast The Slowdown, has kept a catalog of cherished trees that have grounded and inspired her throughout her life— trees that have marked time and place and have expanded meaning about what it is to be alive on this planet. Here, in a piece that is equal parts a tribute to nature’s power and mystery, boldly confessional memoir, and honest reckoning with our world’s beauty and its many upheavals, she takes the reader on a tour tree by tree, from California and New York City to Cape Cod and Kentucky.
50 pages, ebook
First published June 27, 2023
1 person is currently reading
205 people want to read
About the author
Ada Limon
32 books2,193 followersAda Limón is the author of three books of poetry, Lucky Wreck, This Big Fake World, and Sharks in the Rivers. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Poetry from New York University. Limón has received fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, and was one of the judges for the 2013 National Book Award in Poetry. She works as a creative writing instructor and a freelance writer while splitting her time between Lexington, Kentucky and Sonoma, California (with a great deal of New York in between). Her new book of poems, Bright Dead Things is forthcoming from Milkweed Editions in 2015.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 13, 2025
When you write about the same death over and over again, people will start to resent you. You must tell them you’re writing about trees.
É com o pretexto de rememorar as árvores da sua vida que a poetisa Ada Limón escreve este livro de memórias, desde a infância ao divórcio dos pais e às famílias por eles refeitas, passando pelo primeiro amor da adolescência e pelo término de várias relações, culminando em episódios de luto, coração partido e ataques de pânico.
When my father first crossed the border from Mexico, they smudged oranges and he lived in a chicken coop. Now my father has 130 trees of his own. Even if it isn’t our legacy, there is a legacy.
São muitas as espécies de árvores mencionadas nesta carta de amor, algumas que nem existem por cá, mas também eu tenho as minhas árvores de eleição: as figueiras e os sobreiros da minha infância e adolescência, os jacarandás que vejo actualmente da janela e os ciprestes que considero as árvores mais poéticas.
NPR run a story about how satellite images had shown that there were roughly 400 billion trees on the planet, or 61 trees per person. Everyone seemed elated at this new NASA-supplied knowledge, but to me that seemed like not enough trees. I remember thinking how urgently I needed to spend time with trees, especially if I had only 61.
Ada Limón escreveu “Shelter: A Love Letter to Trees” em 2022, quando se tornou a primeira mulher latina a ser consagrada como Poeta Laureada dos Estados Unidos durante dois anos consecutivos. Embora tenha recebido vários prémios de poesia, acho especialmente bonito o gesto da cidade californiana onde cresceu, que adornou um banco de jardim com versos seus.
Before I knew about any form of meditation, Brady told me that you can meditate by looking at trees. I’m sure he didn’t say that the meditation was simply called “looking at trees” but that’s what I called it in my mind. I was learning to meditate, but if I ever struggled with any formal practice, I tried my best to look at trees.
Ada Limón nota que é estranho escrever um elogio às árvores quando sabe que publicar 62 livros equivale ao abate de uma delas, mas com “Shelter” pode ficar de consciência tranquila, pois existe apenas em formato digital.
Vejo pelas recensões negativas a esta obra que é preciso ser-se um tipo particular de pessoa para o apreciar, mas a mim encheu-me a alma ouvir a autora durante uma hora a deleitar-se com essas criaturas majestosas, que me fazem subscrever as palavras da pintora Georgia O’Keeffe:
“I wish people were all trees, I think I could enjoy them then.”
É com o pretexto de rememorar as árvores da sua vida que a poetisa Ada Limón escreve este livro de memórias, desde a infância ao divórcio dos pais e às famílias por eles refeitas, passando pelo primeiro amor da adolescência e pelo término de várias relações, culminando em episódios de luto, coração partido e ataques de pânico.
When my father first crossed the border from Mexico, they smudged oranges and he lived in a chicken coop. Now my father has 130 trees of his own. Even if it isn’t our legacy, there is a legacy.
São muitas as espécies de árvores mencionadas nesta carta de amor, algumas que nem existem por cá, mas também eu tenho as minhas árvores de eleição: as figueiras e os sobreiros da minha infância e adolescência, os jacarandás que vejo actualmente da janela e os ciprestes que considero as árvores mais poéticas.
NPR run a story about how satellite images had shown that there were roughly 400 billion trees on the planet, or 61 trees per person. Everyone seemed elated at this new NASA-supplied knowledge, but to me that seemed like not enough trees. I remember thinking how urgently I needed to spend time with trees, especially if I had only 61.
Ada Limón escreveu “Shelter: A Love Letter to Trees” em 2022, quando se tornou a primeira mulher latina a ser consagrada como Poeta Laureada dos Estados Unidos durante dois anos consecutivos. Embora tenha recebido vários prémios de poesia, acho especialmente bonito o gesto da cidade californiana onde cresceu, que adornou um banco de jardim com versos seus.
Before I knew about any form of meditation, Brady told me that you can meditate by looking at trees. I’m sure he didn’t say that the meditation was simply called “looking at trees” but that’s what I called it in my mind. I was learning to meditate, but if I ever struggled with any formal practice, I tried my best to look at trees.
Ada Limón nota que é estranho escrever um elogio às árvores quando sabe que publicar 62 livros equivale ao abate de uma delas, mas com “Shelter” pode ficar de consciência tranquila, pois existe apenas em formato digital.
Vejo pelas recensões negativas a esta obra que é preciso ser-se um tipo particular de pessoa para o apreciar, mas a mim encheu-me a alma ouvir a autora durante uma hora a deleitar-se com essas criaturas majestosas, que me fazem subscrever as palavras da pintora Georgia O’Keeffe:
“I wish people were all trees, I think I could enjoy them then.”
February 19, 2025
wowie here i go listening to all the scribd originals that catch my eye before canceling my subscription forever!
this is a short piece of nonfiction, but you can really see that the author is a poet. the swirling narrative takes us from tree to tree, trauma to trauma. i appreciate limon's encouragement to be present in nature, to learn to recognize trees as we would recognize friends.
sometimes the moments she's recounting seem to come out of nowhere, and i think a more structured memoir could have worked better. she kinda lost me during the section where she describes the plotlines of each of her unpublished novels. overall, though, i liked this - it's good to remember to take some time on trees.
this is a short piece of nonfiction, but you can really see that the author is a poet. the swirling narrative takes us from tree to tree, trauma to trauma. i appreciate limon's encouragement to be present in nature, to learn to recognize trees as we would recognize friends.
sometimes the moments she's recounting seem to come out of nowhere, and i think a more structured memoir could have worked better. she kinda lost me during the section where she describes the plotlines of each of her unpublished novels. overall, though, i liked this - it's good to remember to take some time on trees.
February 29, 2024
Nothing really stood out to me in a way that made this collection really good but I do love poems/stories/anthologies about nature so I still enjoyed it a lot. It makes me appreciate nature and want to learn about or at least spend more time with nature because it is very healing no matter what I do exactly.
August 12, 2024
Me pareció un poco soso, aunque puede ser que sea porque está escrito en inglés y yo lo leí (¿escuché?) en español. La única parte que me gustó mucho es la parte que habla de la muerte, la naturaleza y lo que significa para nosotrxs.
En general creo que es un libro que se puede leer en una sentada, pero no es un libro que recomendaría leer.
En general creo que es un libro que se puede leer en una sentada, pero no es un libro que recomendaría leer.
July 3, 2024
girl what
March 18, 2025
This was a well written and well narrated book, and while I like the message, I didn’t really care for the delivery.
March 28, 2025
3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ *Rezensionsexemplar
Nach langer Zeit habe ich endlich wieder Lyrik gelesen.
Die Verbindung zur Natur und den Bäumen war stark spürbar. Ich habe neue Dinge dazu gelernt. Es hat sich wie ein mexikanischer Sommer Urlaub angefühlt. Manche Aussagen haben nicht so mit mir räsoniert oder haben für mich nicht reingepasst, aber das ist okay. Der Rückblick auf die Kindheit und die Weiterentwicklung im jetzt waren ebenfalls spürbar, was mir wirklich gut gefallen hat.
Danke für das Rezensionsexemplar NetGalley und Hoffmann und Campe.
Nach langer Zeit habe ich endlich wieder Lyrik gelesen.
Die Verbindung zur Natur und den Bäumen war stark spürbar. Ich habe neue Dinge dazu gelernt. Es hat sich wie ein mexikanischer Sommer Urlaub angefühlt. Manche Aussagen haben nicht so mit mir räsoniert oder haben für mich nicht reingepasst, aber das ist okay. Der Rückblick auf die Kindheit und die Weiterentwicklung im jetzt waren ebenfalls spürbar, was mir wirklich gut gefallen hat.
Danke für das Rezensionsexemplar NetGalley und Hoffmann und Campe.
February 25, 2024
Was a little weird
July 17, 2025
This was an endearing tribute to trees and the gifts they offer us. I appreciate how Ada Limón’s poetry encourages us to stay present. This book is a tender reminder of that. I particularly enjoyed the stories about how trees helped shape memories and experiences with her family. They made me reflect on how deeply interwoven our lives can be with nature, and how much more meaningful they become when we allow that connection.
I listened to this as an audiobook. While the poet’s voice was soothing, there were moments when it felt like she was reading rather than sharing the poem. I know this is highly subjective, but some pauses felt a little unnatural and gently pulled me out of the experience.
Still, her poems made me appreciate the trees around me even more, and pay closer attention to their names and the quiet gifts they bring.
I listened to this as an audiobook. While the poet’s voice was soothing, there were moments when it felt like she was reading rather than sharing the poem. I know this is highly subjective, but some pauses felt a little unnatural and gently pulled me out of the experience.
Still, her poems made me appreciate the trees around me even more, and pay closer attention to their names and the quiet gifts they bring.
January 4, 2024
A collection of trees! I loved the concept of using a species of tree as a jumping-off point for each essay. The topics ranged from personal stories to musings on nature and society to rad facts about trees. Quite a few of these essays left me lost in my own thoughts on trees. Always a good sign.
Sidebar, but NASA came up in a couple of the essays. I particularly liked the part on moon trees:
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nas.... And it made me wonder if Limon already knew she'd be collaborating with NASA on her space poem or if that was a neat bit of serendipity. https://europa.nasa.gov/message-in-a-.... Either way, my name's going on a six-year trip to Jupiter now.
Sidebar, but NASA came up in a couple of the essays. I particularly liked the part on moon trees:
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nas.... And it made me wonder if Limon already knew she'd be collaborating with NASA on her space poem or if that was a neat bit of serendipity. https://europa.nasa.gov/message-in-a-.... Either way, my name's going on a six-year trip to Jupiter now.
August 10, 2025
A beautifully poetic and quite meditative work - it leads you on a journey that simply encourages you to quieten your mind and follow the author into the wonderful world of trees. Memoir is cleverly woven into the vignettes, you get a deep sense of her personal connection to trees. Some beautiful lines here, and it was a good listen for an afternoon or two.
January 17, 2024
This book literally made me walk outside my own front door & hug a tree... ♥ I was deeply emersed into the author's words as she paints vivid memories that sparked emotions and recollections of my own.
February 4, 2024
Truly one of my favorite poets. I really enjoyed this collection. It feels like one I could revisit over and over again.
February 19, 2024
The phrase "tree hugger" gets a new meaning.
July 5, 2024
I am so in love with Ada Limon's poetry.
September 24, 2024
This was one of my favorite reads last year. I was waiting forever for it to be added to Goodreads!
October 18, 2024
Beautiful
August 6, 2025
Beuatiful poetic book. Loved it.
August 31, 2025
Not really my sort of book, found it quite boring. I am doing a 7-in-7 though and this was short 😅
August 18, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
May 7, 2024
3 stars
This was such a heart-warming book. I really enjoyed learning about trees and listening to the narrator's memories of why a specific kind of tree is memorable to her. It's also my first time learning about the moon tree and I've been obsessed since! I also liked how the book ended with an ironic thought.
This was such a heart-warming book. I really enjoyed learning about trees and listening to the narrator's memories of why a specific kind of tree is memorable to her. It's also my first time learning about the moon tree and I've been obsessed since! I also liked how the book ended with an ironic thought.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews