Karen, a longtime Buddhist meditator, master gardener, and lover of nature, experienced the death of both of her parents in about a year’s time. Her father’s suicide was unexpected and particularly painful for her. She described her grief as an all-consuming rage. Not long after these events, an environmental group invited her to speak at a rally to save the old-growth redwoods. In response, Karen shouted into the phone, “My father has died! There are no trees!”
