Julia Butterfly

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The Legacy of Luna

The Story of a Tree a Woman

And the Struggle to Save the Redwoods

By Julia Butterfly Hill

Reviewed by Larry Jaffe

There is no doubt in my mind that what Julia Hill has accomplished is nothing short of incredible. Her tree sitting is an amazing feat and a most courageous act. It is totally selfless and frankly inspiring. And I cannot for one moment question her ideals, strength and fortitude. Hill has proven that one person can make a change in the world, can make a difference. She is entitled to whatever crowns of achievement she has earned. And to her credit she does to a certain degree promote the team that helped her achieve her goals, acknowledging it was not just a one-woman show.

However, this is a book review and not an article on Ms. Hill no matter how worthy her actions are. And as a reader, reviewer and poet I am most concerned about the level of hype that introduces the book. Hill is compared to civil rights activist Rosa Parks. And that just does not work for me. Comparing her to Rosa Parks simply is not the correct image with which to get me interested in this book. And my immediate reaction is to back off. I want to visit Julia's world and not confuse it with other issues. Issues that in my mind may be more important, although others may not feel the likewise, this is what happens to me. Someone once said comparisons are odious and this exemplifies it. Why can't the PR machine simply let Julia Butterfly Hill stand on her own two feet and not take this book and person to places they do not belong. And I vacillate from these viewpoints knowing this book is designed to reach the masses and comprehending that, to what is this glamour shot on the cover (which leaves me feeling very empty)?

I know this woman has suffered through an environment most of us will never approach. Things we will never fully understand even think of or be nightmared with. They are beyond our understanding. Hill questioned authorities in both corporate and within her own peer group and survived and won. She plainly has guts. So why is the beginning of this book so devoid of emotion. Why would even my editor say to me "Larry, it's an easy read." Is the book so structured and so written for the mass market that the paralyzing fears and joyous nurturing have been sifted out? Certainly the first third of the book leaves this void of personality and a rather cut and dry account of Hill's ordeal.

I flip back to the front and stare into the eyes of the woman so glamorously captured on the cover. I want to see her vision, instead I see her makeup and for some reason I find this most disconcerting. It is the same feeling I had when visiting her web site that people were protecting her and not letting the real Julia Butterfly Hill out. Some of that is understandable and I suppose if I lived in a tree for two years, I would want some protection from elements and people and to get some privacy back. The book goes into much detail on her personal habits of living in a tree for two years and no facilities that we are so used to.

I continue reading the book and come to a poem about doubting herself. And in all fairness how could one even muster the strength she was able to bring forth is beyond me. But the poem that should drip from her soul only cursory covers the doubt and does not dig in, tear in to the doubts in her mind and heart. She knows that she must confront this doubt but again her words do not do justice to her act. They do not illuminate what possesses her. As a reader I begin to feel that the book is homogenized. That all of Julia's pathos and pain has been slow cooked away.

I want to know Julia, I say to myself. I want to know what she said to Luna (the tree she sat) in these intense moments of weather and outrage. And I want to know what Luna said back to her. And I know that trees talk as all life does. but where is that heartfelt communication. Yes, I am very entranced by the tale, but so far it reads like a well-rehearsed travel log. And I want more. But then suddenly it hits me, I have not put the book down, it sits with me during meals and between meals. I clutch Julia's paper spine caressing her words with my eyes.

It is finally on page 113 where my wishes become a verbal reality. Finally, my wishes are rewarded. The tension of a brewing storm has spread to the written page and finally the mind and heart of Julia Butterfly Hill open up to me and I am inside feeling and perceiving her travail. It seems like it has taken forever to get to this point and perhaps the waiting adds to the emotion. But the moment is there when Julia is throttled by the growing storm and prays to Luna and Luna responds.

Luna tells her how to survive and be more like a tree in the wind strong but resilient. And at that moment Julia changes from caterpillar to butterfly. And I must admit I the reader change as well and understand the bonding between woman and this tree. My viewpoint of tolerating my first impression of holier-than-thou writing to complete admiration for her has come about. Strangely, the writing improves at this point. There is more expression in every word. The emotion becomes so pungent you taste what Hill is going through. The metamorphosis is complete.

In many places, Julia reads like a child trying to take care of an ailing pet. And our heroine, despite all odds, fights to keep her friend alive. And you can feel those odds against her and start to root for her and Luna to win. She breathes her own life into Luna. And like the pet that parents and vet want to put down and everyone says it is for the best, Julia in reality knows better. She fights to allow her friend to survive. The strength of conviction bursts through in negotiations with the avowed enemy. You see that despite all odds, Julia wants to be treated as an individual a creative being that will not listen to no and for each circumstance in life to be treated uniquely and not lumped into predispositions we hold dear. There are many life lessons to be garnered from this book, survival, as a product of intense desire is one of them.

And yes like John told me, this book is an easy read. But it is a very worthwhile read I just wish they would change the cover.

Julia will be reading her work April 10, 7:30 PM at the Midnight Special, see the calendar. Also see Larry's poem page 6.

(Ed. Note. I did zip through the first part, waiting for the good parts, which were rewarding. Julia was in a car accident, where she did suffer some brain damage to her analytical functions and you can tell that from her speech. It, in a way gives her a simplicity that is engaging. One that grown men want to protect.

She was awed like most are by the redwoods and just acted. But then she not only forced herself to stay in the tree but forced herself to become analytical, to become an expert on the forest and the environment. And then from a young, somewhat unschooled young woman, become a leftist and organizer up in that tree. Amazes me still.

For me Julia's relationship with the tree Luna was symbolic. Luna stood in for love, for stand-up rock solid, good human values, and for humanity. Julia's act was more spiritual than practical as Andy says but spiritual acts have their own value.

I understand Andy's and others criticisms. They worked in that area for ten years yet were left out for various reasons by some of those around Julia. That is a mistake, not an unheard of one in progressive politics but one that should be rectified.

Part of who we are is the care we have for others. Including those around us, those we meet with, struggle with. Love should start there or here as the case might be.)