The Wild Handbook: Seasonal Activities to Help You Reconnect with Nature

by Emily Thomas, James Weston Lewis (Illustrator)

A beautiful, illustrated book full of ideas to get you back in touch with nature.

Spending time in nature is scientifically proven to be good for us - the benefits are endless and it has the power to make us feel better both physically and emotionally.

Organized by season, The Wild Handbook provides a thoughtful collection of activities to get you back in touch with nature and improve your physical and mental wellbeing. It's an antidote to the stresses of modern life - activities include stargazing, wild swimming, various seasonal crafts, forest bathing, foraging and filling your home with natural materials and air purifying plants.

Whether you live in the middle of a city or out in the countryside, you'll find practical ideas to suit your lifestyle. Illustrated with atmospheric color artwork, this beautiful gift book makes a wonderful present for the nature-seeker in all of us.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2021

About the author

Emily Thomas was born in London, and has lived there most of her life – except between the ages of 13 and 18 when she lived in Maldon in Essex on board a Thames Sailing Barge, with her family of seven assorted siblings and stepsiblings and two warring cats. Emily also works as an editor of many different kinds of books, including children’s and young adult fiction. She now lives in Brixton, with no pets and a lot of books.

(Source: Amazon)

Reviews

[Danielle]

I so wanted to love this. But the more I read, the worse it got. I only leave reviews for 5* books usually, however I wanted to share my thoughts with any other Nature lovers looking to get this book.

'Seasonal Activities to Help You Reconnect with Nature'? Sadly a bit of a stretch. There are some great entries in this, including forest bathing, nature scavenger hunts and Earthing to name a few, however many 'activities' are quite far removed from Nature, some even include misinformation or go against being kind to Nature.

I'm a rather wild person as it is and so perhaps this isn't aimed at me, though even for those who have no connection to the natural world, this book is repetitive and some points become redundant. It's as if there was a page quota to be met and random ideas were thrown in to fill it up.

Lastly, although such a small part, the page mentioning adopting a rescue animal is incredibly discouraging and I assume the author has no idea about rescue animals because no, actually not all rescue animals are neglected or traumatised. Conversely, many animals bought from breeders come with issues so why are we promoting the exploitation of animals for profit.
Oh, and though visiting a Donkey Sanctuary is a lovely idea, riding Donkeys is incredibly cruel and they are disappearing from many beaches due to the abuse.

[Sherry Griffin]

I loved this book and I’m so glad I have a hard copy so I can look back on it from time to time. Some great ideas.

[Helen White]

Nicely illustrated little book split into seasons with ideas and activities for each. Some practical some a bit more quirky - I'm not going forest bathing any time soon but I like reading about seasonal traditions.

[Snicketts]

This is a book to dip in and out of when a feeling of melancholy strikes. Arranged by season, it is a list of ways in which to engage with the natural environment. Some are obvious but others are quirky or different enough to pique interest and make you reevaluate your feelings. There are lovely illustrations on each page and the suggestions are varied enough that most should find something to help them reconnect with the natural world and reap the benefits to be had.

[Verity]

A fantastic little compendium of seasonal activities- infinitely mood-brightening and optimistic. Also, the illustrations are GORGEOUS.