Tree Trek: A Daughter's Walk Through Grief, the new memoir by Stephanie Mirocha, is both a symbolic walk and a literal one.
"I started walking doing Tree Treks, which is an actual event in Como Park [in St. Paul, MN]," says Mirocha. "This event was initiated by my dad, Chet Mirocha, in the early 2000s. He led people from tree to tree, educating them." After her father's passing, Stephanie took up the mantle and began leading her own Tree Treks.
Throughout the book, Mirocha utilizes her knowledge and the details of various species of trees to create reflections, musings, and to conjure memories of her late father. "The theme is of finding the unlooked for on your own trail," says Mirocha. "You don't always know what you're going to find when you get out in nature, but on your trail there's some kind of connection between the inner and the outer."
Tree Trek is available at many bookstores, as well as online through Amazon and the author's website.
Minnesota Reads is produced at The North 103.3 with funding provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
