Helen Lehndorf
I’m a writer and writing teacher from New Zealand.
I grew up in Taranaki and now live in the Manawatu.
My creative nonfiction memoir, A Forager’s Life (2023), is published by Harper Collins.
My poetry book, The Comforter (2011), is published by Seraph Press. Read some reviews.
My second book, Write to the Centre (2016), is published by Haunui Press. It’s a book about my lifelong habit of keeping a journal, with colourful excerpts from my own journal pages, and writing ideas. Read some reviews.
I publish essays, reviews and poems in literary magazines and anthologies.
Some areas of interest are: nature writing, ecopoetics, permaculture, music, journaling, left-wing politics, community development, environmentalism, poetry, food sovereignty, op-shopping/upcycling/resource-sharing, growing food, collaborative art, herbs, plant medicines, bonfires, community art, creative processes, yoga, meditation, season-based ritual, and embodiment.
Genre:
- Adult Non-Fiction
- Poetry
Skills:
- Competition Judging
- Freelance Writing
- Ghost Writing
- Mentoring
- Poetry Readings
- Tutoring
- Workshops (adults)
Branch:
Central Districts
Location:
Palmerston North
Publications:
A Foragers Life
A memoir about belonging and motherhood, told through the author's lifelong passion for wild food
When Helen Lehndorf moves to the city after a childhood living off the land in rural Taranaki, she can't help but feel different from her peers and professors. She finds solace in long walks foraging weeds and plants along the river, but something inside her still longs for home.
Chasing a feeling of ancestral belonging, she travels to England with her new husband. There they learn about nature as the commons, shared between all who encounter it - a source of delight, food, medicine.
An unexpected pregnancy in Aotearoa changes everything, and motherhood takes over Helen's identity. When her son is diagnosed with autism, foraging becomes a space for selfhood in a chaotic world.
Weaving memoir with foraging recipes, principles and practices, A Forager's Life is an intimate story and a promise that, with the right frame of mind, much can be made of the world around us.
'Wonderful. A story that will have you looking at your neighbourhood with new intent.' Wendyl Nissen
'Fascinating and really beautiful ... I loved this book.' Claire Mabey, 'Book Critic', RNZ Afternoons
'A gorgeous book. Thoughtful, funny and inspiring.' Catherine Robertson, 'Book Critic', RNZ Afternoons
'I devoured the pages ... and found myself wanting more.' Kete Books
'... her accounts of these struggles, and how she and her family worked through them, provide the books with much of its - considerably large - heart.' North & South
'This heartfelt, dreamy memoir ... revels in the simple things [and] encourages you to slow down.' Shepherdess