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The Tree of Life

By: Justin Stumvoll
Narrated by: Justin Stumvoll
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Publisher's summary

The Tree of Life is a cross-generational adventure that speaks to the human condition experienced by young and old alike. Its purpose is to spark conversations around authentic questions, while reminding the listener that imagination, hope, fun, and love are the foundation to a life fully lived.

Who am I? What is my purpose? How do I find joy and wonder on the other side of tragedy?

Through an act of providence, Oakie the acorn is buried in an apple orchard by an eccentric adventurer, Otis the wild-eyed squirrel. Oakie finds himself in an unfamiliar world, wrestling with who he is and whether or not he should stay.

After a thrilling adventure exploring the world beyond the orchard, Oakie returns to an unexpected nemesis named Joshua, “the people”. When tragedy strikes, Oakie and Joshua must face their greatest losses and embark on the most crucial journey of their lives, changing their destiny forever.

The Tree of Life is an allegory that chronicles the journey each of us must take to find healing from the bumps and bruises incurred through life.

The invitation resounding from The Tree of Life is for adults to return to the joys of imaginative innocence; it’s also a promise to children that everything they need to fulfill their dreams is within them.

The message for everyone is that we must learn how to come alive wherever we find ourselves planted.

Woven into the chapters of The Tree of Life are influences of Brene Brown, Katherine Paterson’s Bridge to Terabithia, C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, and William Paul Young’s The Shack.

If your family enjoys movies like Disney-Pixar Meet the Robinsons, Inside Out, Up, and A Bug’s Life, you’ll love The Tree of Life.

©2015 Justin Stumvoll (P)2020 Justin Stumvoll
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What listeners say about The Tree of Life

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A fantastical allegorical roadmap leading to a full life!


TL;DR: Buy the damn book, it’s really good!

Brace for fresh hope!

This is a story that, in and of itself, is fantastic. It’s imaginative, has a cohesive narrative, and has 3 dimensional characters. The true beauty of it, however, lies in the subtle message of vibrant hope woven into throughout the book, told by imaginative characters with personalities and perspectives all of their own!

This is a story written by a man who understands people deeply and knows his own heart well. He uses that gift to invite others into a life full of child-like wonder and imagination.

This is a story about embracing each stage of life as it comes, learning to grieve every loss as they come, and choosing to find the gift in each moment.


Not every author should narrate their own books, but Justin Stumvoll is not one of them! His excitement about the world that he’s created shows in the voices of each character, and each person has a unique personality and it’s expressed so well through his voice!

Don’t listen to this book if you:
1) Want to stay hopeless, powerless, and voiceless
2) Hate imagination and stories
3) Don’t want to live a life of purpose
4) Like feeling dead inside, and want to feel cold and emotionally numb

This book is for those of us that want to live life fully alive; for those with questions about pain; for those whose hearts have been hurt; for those who are loving their lives; and for anyone else with a pulse!

Buckle up for a wonderful story of life full of laughs, imagination, tears, joy and a whole lot of fun!

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Amazing book for ALL ages

This book is a masterpiece! It engages you thoroughly but isn’t so intense that you get burnt out listening. Wonderful dialogue, extremely relatable and easy to visualize! I would have LOVED this book as a kid and I love it now as an adult. Beautiful, inspiring message that hits all those deep spots...a MUST read

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Imagination and playfulness that fights fear

I love the playfulness of the story as well the deeper truths hidden within. I laughed and cried as the story caused me to reflect on my life and choose to face fears I’ve let control me.

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AMAZING book!!

Absolutely LOVING “The Tree if Life”! Definitely a must read or listen! Highly recommended read for ALL ages!

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This story is like life.

Justin is a man full of reality and beautiful perception. That is on full display in this book. His imagination is something that most adults have allowed to die, and it’s something that I hope to develop. This book is so up and down, like an emotional roller coaster - just like my life lately - but it’s so true and hope-giving. Thank you, Justin, for your role in creating this and engaging in it. I’m very grateful.

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A fantastic family book

We listened to it as a family and my kids couldn't wait until the next night to listen again. We all loved it and loved the humor and the deep inferences to identity. It gave us so much to discuss as a family about how God has created us and how we have to dig our roots in deep to our faith to with stand the storms and attacks of life.

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Restoring Childlike Wonder!

The Tree of Life is a beautiful gateway to the childlike wonder most of us have left behind. Learning who we are and what we are created to do in no matter what we are surrounded by. Beautiful work!

Experiencing Justin’s reconnection to his childlike wonder and the path he lays out for us to follow was is beautiful experience. The entire listen pulled on my heart.

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Love

I loved hearing the joy & love in Justin’s voice as he was telling the story. It soothed my heart at times. You could feel that he had experienced all the feelings that Oakie (main character) had and the love that he received. I loved the mix of just funny stories and the life lessons that were shared in this allegory.

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Entertaining! Thought Provoking! Life Changing!

This book is amazing! Great for kids and adults. The story is super fun and exciting with lots of life lessons and truth about how different situations affect you and how to work through them. Highly recommended!

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Love it!

Amazing book, very insightful and helpful in understanding emotional health and getting through struggles in life.

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