I think this was a 3.5/5 for me. I enjoyed many aspects of this book -- I found the author's journey through mourning and rediscovery of the joys of life through mushrooms to be really uplifting. However, the grief sections and the mushroom sections did not blend together really well. I found both compelling in their own ways, but the transition from a section about her grief upon losing her husband would be followed by a completely unrelated info dump about mushrooms. I can appreciate (and relate) to both sections on grief and mushroom fanaticism, but I feel like a little more style is needed to blend the two harmoniously. I also don't know if this is a result of the translation, but I found the prose quite stiff and lacking in voice. I can relate to her sections on grief, but they did not make me feel a lot of emotion for her because they were written in such a matter-of-fact way. I'm not sure that is the most effective tone in this case, and I would have like to have been more emotionally engaged.

On an unrelated note -- I found the author's great interest in hierarchy in the mushroom world rather uncomfortable for me personally. So much of my life involves being trapped in a hierarchy and feeling insecure about my place there, why must we hyperfocus on that within a hobby that is supposed to be fun and for everyone? Perhaps this is my own insecurity talking, but I'd rather not try to place myself in the mushroom hobbyist ladder and see how I can be better in the eyes of others. This is for fun, it's not my career. I don't love this ladder climbing attitude that is very present in this book, it feels competitive in a way that makes me feel somewhat sad. This is a hobby meant to relax, I don't want to feel competitive. But, this is all my own personal feeling and doesn't comment on the quality of the book, so take this rant with a grain of salt.

Overall, it's a fine book. I went through it quickly and felt it had some good ideas to offer.