The Self-Completing Tree is the author's own collection of the best of her last 50 years of writing. In this new edition, the celebrated Grand Dame of English Canadian letters and award-winning poet uses the metaphor implied by the title - a tree, half verdant, half in flames - to symbolize the androgynous self. This is the theme of much of Livesay's work and a central metaphor for the most definitive collection of her poetry. The result is a spiritual autobiography charting the fascinating domains of her own life and the universal struggles we all share.