Our Ancestors Want Us to Be Mushrooms: Wisdom for Living in Balance with the Planet and Each Other

Mushrooms have within their networks the answers to our biggest questions.

The more we start to live like mushrooms, author Madison Murphy Barney argues, the more healthy, just, and abundant our lives will be. Unlike other mushroom-focused books, Our Ancestors Want Us to Be Mushrooms weaves the guiding attributes of mushrooms and ancestral wisdom into an inspiring metaphor that calls us back into the right relationship with each other and with our planet.

The book is cleverly divided into eight traits of mushrooms from which humans can seek guidance:

1. Humility
2. Beauty and delight
3. Creativity and unique gifts
4. Living in cycles and decomposition
5. Protection
6. Healing and nourishment
7. Flexibility and adaptability
8. Mystery and room for magic

Barney draws on her Indigenous roots and guides the reader on a journey to become more human through acting like mushrooms. Written with warmth, spirit, and whimsy, Our Ancestors Want Us to Be Mushrooms enchants the reader into a more engaged life with the world and themselves by embodying the innate qualities of the wondrous mycelial world.