Sometimes funny, sometimes profound, The Four Storey Forest, As Grow the Trees, So Too the Heart is a personal odyssey about a life lived close to the land.
A skillful blend of fact and fiction, the book contains elements of Comox Valley history, intriguing observations about nature and a fresh perspective on spiritual beliefs today.
Merville resident Harold Macy is a family man, forester, farmer and practising Mennonite. He’ll launch The Four Storey Forest at Zocalo Café in Courtenay during the Write Here Readers Series on May 19 at 7 p.m.
Also reading from their new books will be Matt Rader and Cornelia Hoogland.
On June 4 at 2:30 p.m, Macy will sign books at the Laughing Oyster Bookshop.
The Four Storey Forest is actually two books in one.
As a memoir, it tells the story of Macy’s love affair with nature. As a youngster growing up on the Prairies, he was always examining bugs, grasses and whatever he else could find. But it was on the annual one week family vacation to the West coast that he fell in love with trees.
On the back of Four Storey Forest, author Jack Hodgins writes, “Harold Macy has done something remarkable…. Part autobiography, part spiritual journey, part historical fiction and part arboreal adventure, this is a four-pillared exploration of life as it is lived by the people and forests of north-central Vancouver Island.”
Over 30 years ago Macy and his wife, Judy, moved to Merville to raise their family. Among other occupations, Macy’s worked for the BC Forest Service Research Branch, heli-logged up coast and for many years was the forester at the UBC Oyster River Research Farm. For 15 years he and his family have operated the 400-hectare Headquarters Creek Woodlot.
The inspiration for his first book out of four lines that came to Macy one day. “The forest up, toward Light; The Forest out, in abundance and grace; The forest forward, through time; The forest inward toward God, as sanctuary and metaphor.”
“It started as four stories representing the physical layers of plants and animals, literally the four stories of the forest,” he says. “Then it enlarged into four directions. The four seasons are also important as are the four elements of earth, air, fire and water.”
Macy’s been interested in writing and drawing almost as long as he’s loved trees. He lives a practical, patient life in tune with the rhythms and seasons of nature. In addition to pruning and harvesting the woodlot, his family also pick berries, grow mushrooms, make big leaf maple syrup and create seasonal wreaths out of pruned branches.
They also get their firewood from the forest. This heats their house and water and dries their laundry and various herbs grown on their farm.
But Macy’s not just sweating and meditating with mosquitoes while out in the woods. He’s also a keen observer. He notices where elk rub their antlers on trees, where birds nest and how the landscape buckles and folds as it shifts from flat plain to hilled terrain.
But best of all, he sees and tells the stories of the trees. Who knew that one tree will reach out with its roots to connect with another tree in order to share water, photosynthate and possibly disease?
Macy figures he wrote five full drafts of Four Storey Forest. “I’d get to the end and when I went back to edit I’d realize that the forest had gone through another season and that I was a different person because of it,” he explains. “The more I learn about the forest, the more I change and my heart grows. We’re all stewards whether we own the land we use and enjoy or not.”
Central to the story is the regeneration of Macy’s woodlot from the fire of 1938 that devastated the Black Creek area. And this is where the second, fictional, part of the book comes in. Jacob’s story takes place in the years before and after the fire. He’s part of the Mennonite community whose faith is tested both by natural disaster and conflicts over fighting in the war.
Like all good books, Four Storey Forest takes a universal concept and couples it with personal relevance. Macy’s writing style is lyrical and very descriptive of people and places.
Although his feet are firmly connected to the earth, his thoughts soar. Macy might have Merville mud on his gumboots, but he’s a philosopher just the same.
A self-confessed binge writer, Macy admits to writing 18 hours straight on occasion. “In the morning, before I’m distracted by the events of the day, is my best time to work,” he says. “But when inspiration hits, I try to take advantage of it.”
He’s been published in Island Word, Aspect Journal and, in 2010, won the North Island College Three-hour Short Fiction contest. He’s currently working on a historical novel that takes place in San Josef Bay and contemplating a short story collection.
The Four Storey Forest (170 pgs, softcover) is published by Poplar Publishing and retails for $20. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Mennonite Central Committee BC for community forestry projects in developing countries.
