Gathered: On Foraging, Feasting, and the Seasonal Life

Review Quotes:

"Cerberville shows us how to feed both body and soul through foraging. Thanks to her, instead of composting my sour cherry pits, I will grind them into an almond-flavored seasoning. In Gathered Cerberville has an important message: 'A forager must choose to consider the future.' So should we all." - Trish O'Kane, Birding to Change the World: A Memoir

"Gathered is a feast for body, mind, and soul. It challenges you to not only learn new plants and fungi, but to also learn new ways of moving through the green spaces around you. The recipes are vibrant with Gabrielle's love of the natural world, her cultural heritage, and her delightfully eclectic lived experiences. This book is crafted in warmth and joy." - Alexis Nikole Nelson, @Blackforager

"I went into reading this book expecting some stellar recipes; what I wasn't expecting was an incredibly profound and moving memoir. Each collection of anecdotes and self-reflections is unified around aspects of the natural world, conveying not just pragmatic advice about foraging but also highlighting deeply personal moments that speak to the author's motivations and character. Cerberville very successfully combines the knowledge and poetic lyricism of Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life with the ethical framework of the Honorable Harvest laid out by Robin Wall Kimmerer in Braiding Sweetgrass. . . . Much like Cerberville, this book is both hard and soft; indicative of her pragmatic no-nonsense upbringing, time spent running carefree barefoot among the wildflowers, trudging through snow and self-doubt in the middle of winter, demonstrating her devotion to the land and respect for nature, all while forging her own path forward in life. Gathered seamlessly integrates the many facets of foraging, including responsible stewardship, cooking and preservation into a touching collection of stories that will keep you turning the pages, taking notes and inspiring you to get outside." --The Mycophile Quarterly (North American Mycological Association)

"Gathered is a generous offering for anyone interested in foraging and connecting intimately to our landscapes. In this charming collection of tantalizing recipes, scientific facts, and personal story telling, Cerberville speaks from a bounty of experience. Her extensive technical knowledge of plants, fungi, and ecology is shared alongside an ethic of care and responsibility. Foraging is not just about learning what you can eat, Cerberville argues, it is also about learning to take care of the earth and of others." - Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian, author of Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature

"An enthusiastic manual for finding, identifying, harvesting, and processing wild edibles . . . . Cerberville creates lively accounts of her quests in fields and forests for assorted mushrooms, berries, flowers, buds, leaves, and nuts. . . . A charming guide to nature's bounty." - Kirkus

"Gathered is an exquisite dish, prepared by a master, layered with all the ingredients that make up foraging itself: the deeply personal, the broadly historical, the botanical, the mycological, the precisely culinary, and the endless adventure of hunting ingredients." - Samuel Thayer, author of The Forager's Harvest

"...a deeply spiritual, thoroughly practical, and even life-preserving rumination on the practice of foraging the unbounded smorgasbord of plants and fungi in our cities and forests. Invoking the venerated foraging traditions of both Indigenous and enslaved North American peoples ("This is sacred knowledge," she repeats), Cerberville narrates her often serendipitous expeditions . . . with a humanity and eloquence equal to the precision she uses to identify plants, their textures and flavors, and recipes that use them to their best advantage." - Booklist (starred review)

"Gathered is a glowing, vivid book that invites us to look more closely at the world around us -- and to taste it, too. Gabrielle Cerberville writes with clarity, heart, and deep respect for the landscapes she explores. Cerberville shows us that the practice of foraging is not about taking, but about participating -- about paying attention, showing gratitude, and approaching the natural world as a partner rather than a resource." - Molly Williams, author of Jane Austen's Garden: A Botanical Tour of the Classic Novels

"A love letter to the land, written with dirt under the nails. Gabrielle writes like she forages--carefully, reverently, and with deep attention. Her stories are as nourishing as her recipes." - Alan Bergo, author of The Forager Chef's Book of Flora

"Gathered is the foraging and cooking companion I didn't know I was waiting for: clear, grounded, and deeply encouraging. As someone who lives close to the land and still has so much to learn, this book made me feel excited (rather than intimidated) to head out with a basket in hand. Gabrielle Cerberville has created something truly useful for anyone who wants wild food to be part of how they live, not just a passing experiment." - Becca Piastrelli, author of Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community & the Self

"Whether you are a forager, scientist, cook, or artist, Gathered is an information-packed, versatile and fun book we all need to read, consult and have at home!" - Giuliana Furci, Founding Director of the Fungi Foundation

From "the Internet's Mushroom Auntie," a stunning, illustrated guide to foraging and the bounties to be had, both personal and edible, in exploring the world around us and using the gifts it has to offer in our lives.

Foraging is becoming increasingly popular, from TikTok to tasting menus at the most exclusive restaurants around the world. People are discovering that delicious wild edibles are waiting for us in our own backyards, led by champions such as Gabrielle Cerberville. Known as "The Chaotic Forager" online, Cerberville argues that foraging is the past, present, and future of food, and the key to unlocking a reciprocal relationship with the land that feeds us. Through learning to engage with the world of wild food, she contends, we can also build a kinder, more respectful relationship with ourselves.

Gathered is an adventure in foraging that awakens us to the beauty of the seasons and the world we live in, heightening our senses to the crunch of snow underfoot and the sharp prick of a thorny bramble. Season by season, Cerberville takes us along through winning harvests and missteps, introducing us to the beautiful complications of foraged edibles and the various ways to eat and prepare them in delicious recipes such as Chanterelle Peach Pie with Basil, Wild Blueberry Ginger Gimlets, and Pulled Hen of the Woods with Juneberry BBQ Sauce. Cerberville also chronicles indigenous practices of honoring the earth, and their own long road to self-discovery and acceptance.

With this book as a guide, readers will learn to find, identify, harvest, and process wild food to use in their own kitchens and develop a greater kinship with the natural world. A memoir with recipes, color photos, and illustrations throughout, Gathered is an invitation to move beyond our comfort zones, open our eyes, and dig into the earth.

Gathered contains 20 black-and-white illustrations and 30-40 full-color illustrations in a 32-page insert.

Review Citations:

• Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2025 (EAN 9780063357914, Hardcover)
• Booklist 09/01/2025 (EAN 9780063357914, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

Contributor Bio:Cerberville, Gabrielle

Gabrielle Cerberville is a celebrated foraging educator, community mycologist, and climate advocate whose high-energy, humor-laced videos have attracted almost two million followers. Known online as the "Chaotic Forager" and affectionately dubbed "The Internet's Mushroom Auntie," she leads keynotes, workshops, and guided forays across the United States, championing accessible, ethical relationships with wild food and fungi. Gabrielle is also a PhD student at the University of Virginia, where her research in the Music Composition & Computer Technologies program explores how sound can deepen our dialogue with the natural world. Her debut book invites readers to reimagine taste, place, and responsibility.