I first discovered Jared K. Anderson through his book Something in the Woods Loves You, and I absolutely loved it. That collection had a quiet, poetic feel that hit and haunting in the best way.

Field Guide to the Haunting Forest, though, feels quite different. It’s less poetic and more direct, almost like reading a series of heartfelt motivational posts, the kind you might come across on Instagram or in a self-help book.

Anderson actually mentions in the author’s note that many of these pieces began as social media posts, and that really shows. I can see the intention behind it, and I genuinely appreciate the honesty. While it didn’t move me in the same lyrical way his previous book did, I can see how this one could land in someone’s hands at just the right moment. For the right reader, these messages that are kind, true, and deeply human might be exactly what they need.

My Favorite Bits

• Unscripted

We all consume so many purposefully crafted stories that it’s easy to forget life doesn’t
follow conventional structure.
We can’t wait for our climax.
We don’t have character arcs.
We live and then we don’t.
There is no culmination in success or failure.
We are not curated collections of achievements or mishaps.
Don’t fear you won’t be good enough.
Just be here.
Present in this dance between joy and sorrow.
The plot is happening now.
Today is the story of you and me.

• Vulnerable

You are not safe.
Your birth was reckless.
Lightning strikes without reason.
Countless simple mishaps may be fatal.
To live is to collect risk like a bee collects nectar.

Yet there is hope in fragility.

Our goal was never safety.
Our success is not measured in forever.
Our years are seasoning, but the meal is meaning.
Our task is to become our truest selves and to smile
at the knowledge that we will not succeed.

• Worthless

One dangerous illusion of modernity is the link between cost and value
Could we afford the true cost of rain?
Can we calculate a price for the work of phytoplankton producing the oxygen we need?
Our survival will require us to understand value independent of cost.

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Author: Jarod K. Anderson

Publication date: 27 November 2020

Number of pages: 72 pages

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