Paul Adams (Author) He/Him (@pauladamswrites.bsky.social)

The Forest That Disappeared Once, the American chestnut made up a quarter of the Appalachian forest. Then blight arrived, killing billions of trees and leaving only stubborn roots that still try to grow. The tragedy of the chestnut is not weakness—it is a disease in the soil that prevents flourishing. The same is true of generational poverty and systemic inequality. Survival is not the same thing as justice. I see canopy trees every day in my classroom—children full of brilliance and resilience. The question is not whether they are strong enough. It is whether we are willing to tend the soil that shapes their future. https://pluckyreader.wordpress.com/2026/02/24/the-forest-that-disappeared/