Tree Glee: How and Why Trees Make Us Feel Better

by Cheryl Rickman

Trees and humans essentially want the same thing--to live good, happy, purposeful lives and to flourish. We are inextricably bound.

Trees provide us with the necessities of life--they clean the air we breathe, fill us with awe as we walk through forests, and provide timber for the houses we live in, yet there are deeper reasons for our arboreal admiration that go beyond utility and beauty.

Tree Glee looks at the psychology behind our fascination with trees, examining exactly how they comfort, restore, and revitalize us and what we can learn from the wisdom of woodlands to improve our own wellbeing. It explores the importance of trees in our leafy suburbs and urban landscapes, sharing magical stories of remarkable ancient trees across the globe and inviting readers to reflect on their own personal treestory.

Featuring captivating photos and with chapters on forest bathing and nature therapy, woodland wellbeing and tree mythology, Tree Glee explores how by deepening our appreciation and connection to trees and by celebrating and protecting them, we can flourish together.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

Published November 15, 2022

About the author

Cheryl Rickman is a Sunday Times best-selling author and ghostwriter of 25 self-help, wellbeing and business books and a qualified Positive Psychology Practitioner.

After her parents' lives were cut short, Cheryl Rickman decided to devote her life to helping others make the most of theirs, through the books she writes and the workshops she creates.

She specialises in writing empowering, practical books to help people fret less and flourish more and is a Wellbeing Ambassador for the Network of Wellbeing. Her first self-help book, The Flourish Handbook, was published in 2013.

Books due for publication in 2021 include: Navigating Loneliness: How to connect with yourself and others (a mental health handbook) Foreword by Terry Waite (May 2021), May You Be Well: Everyday Good Vibes for the Spiritual (June 2021) and You Are Enough: Embrace Your Flaws and Be Happy Being You (September 2021)

Her most recent books include: The Happiness Bible, The Little Book of Resilience, The Little Book of Serenity and Be More Wonder Woman.

Having qualified with a Certificate in Applied Positive Psychology in 2016, Cheryl also runs wellbeing retreats and delivers workshops on acceptance, balance and compassion, The ABC of Flourishing™ across the country.

As well as writing books, Cheryl also writes features for a variety of publications including Psychologies and Breathe magazine.

Cheryl wrote her first book, The Small Business Start-Up Workbook, in 2005, which has a Foreword by Dame Anita Roddick and reached the number one spot on Amazon. Since then she's ghostwritten 12 books for business leaders, psychologists and wellbeing experts, as well as penning 13 books of her own.

Her first book for children was published in 2017 after a successful Kickstarter crowdfunding project. Called YES YOU CAN, the book shows kids that all toys, colours, clothes & hobbies are for all children by shining a light on gender stereotypes in a child-friendly way. The book also encourages children to find their spark, do what they love and be proud to be themselves.

Cheryl lives with her partner, James, daughter and two dogs in a country cottage in Hampshire, UK. She is an unashamed tree-hugger and nature-lover, has an overflowing book shelf and her favourite colour is rainbow. She adores pizza and the smell of playdoh, but is not a fan of mushrooms or spiders.

You can find out more at www.CherylRickman.co.uk

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are two places that I know I will always find relaxing, being alongside water and in the middle of a woodland. I don’t know exactly why that is, it may be that the sound of water and the susurration of the wind as it passes through the leaves or something else entirely. I love the way that the light is dappled by the leaves in the summer. Even when I am in a woodland in winter, I love the structure of the trees with their starker shapes against a crisp blue sky.

Another tree and woodland enthusiast is Cheryl Rickman. In this book, she takes us on a journey through a tree-lined path. Beginning with why we need trees, especially in the digital age and why we have such a strong association with them. Even having pictures of them in a room or on a screen can have a beneficial effect on a person’s well-being. They are not just for looking at though, touching and smelling trees and leaves can have similar effects. It is thought that this is because of deep-rooted neural wiring that reminds us how they have fed, sheltered and kept us warm for thousands of years.

The second section is about how we connect again with the natural world and trees in particular. This part is more about practical things that you can do to increase this, including making time to notice the tiny details as well as games and fun things to do with small children and families. The final part of the book is talking about what we can do to help maintain and improve the environment for them, after all, we are all interlinked and our longevity depends on them.

I liked this a lot. It has got the balance right between inspirational writing, solid scientific basis and practical well-being suggestions. I know that not everyone is for me, but I have made a note of a few things to do in 2023. Her enthusiasm for her woody subjects is evident throughout the book, and I am slightly jealous of her as she even owns a little piece of ancient woodland. If, like me, you don’t own your own copse, then grab a copy of this book and head to your nearest woodland to luxuriate in the natural cathedral of trees. 3.5 stars

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a small-format coffee table self-help book for nature lovers. It affirms something that many of us know intuitively: being around trees improves our mood and our health. Rickman looks at this from a psychological and a cultural perspective, and talks about her own love of trees and how it helped her get through difficult times in life such as when she lost her mum when she was a teenager. She includes some practical ideas for how to spend more time in nature and how we can fight to preserve trees. Unfortunately, a lot of the information was very familiar to me from books such as Rooted by Lyanda Lynn Haupt and Losing Eden by Lucy Jones – for a long time, forest bathing was one of the themes that kept recurring across my reading – such that this felt like an unnecessary rehashing, illustrated with stock photographs that are nice enough to look at but don’t add anything.

Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love trees. There is nothing more enjoyable than a walk around a forest. I’m very lucky to live not too far from The National Arboretum and its my go to chill out place. The author shares her love of trees through stories and anecdotes throughout her life and makes suggestions about how individuals can make more use of them in their physical and mental well-being.

Exploring our relationship with trees it encourages more people to be aware of their benefits not only to the planet but to each individual. It explores the science behind trees, mentions people who have done amazing things to support trees and explains to the amateur why they are so important.

I’m sure most people understand that trees are such an important natural resource for our planet. They don’t just provide physical support by way of timber, paper and health remedies but they can help reduce the effects of climate change as they create air and remove pollutants from the atmosphere.

For me I found this this book really interesting particularly the scientific and climate change sections although I admit I’m a bit sceptical about some claims. That said I’m sure this is a book that will help a lot of people and I would definitely recommend reading it.

[Rachel Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a child one of my favourite books was The Enchanted wood, I liked to imagine all the little woodland folk and what they looked like. My own experiences with trees started as a small child climbing the tree in our back garden and putting the fear of God into my mother as I was less than five at the time! Like, Cheryl, I have always loved trees and so was extremely grateful to be sent a PDF copy of Tree Glee for review. This book awakened so many memories in me, aside from my tiny self encountering my first climbing tree, stealing apples from a neighbour's apple trees, and visiting Geli Aur ( Golden Grove) in South Wales, which had beautiful woodland walks, deer, and all sorts of other wildlife. Trees are such an important part of our ecosystem that often people take advantage especially greedy corporations. Historically some of my family at some point made their way from the frozen borders of Finland and Russia to Scotland, they were in fact Sami people and like other Indigenous peoples are protectors of the earth, something we should all be doing and maybe why I have a passion for protecting Mother Earth myself. This book not only shares snippets of indigenous wisdom, but it talks about the science behind why trees are so remarkable, how they care for us but also each other, and don't discriminate on species of tree. This was a book I was super excited to read and really didn't disappoint. There are stories here about remarkable people who have done remarkable things because of their love of trees and Cheryl shares her own memories from childhood onwards. This is honestly such a beautiful, well-written, thoroughly researched and lovingly written book, full of the most stunning photos that made me just want to crawl inside them and hug the trees or look up at them and breathe in their aroma. This book is full of lots of activities centered around trees that either enable us to work with trees to enhance our mental health or well-being such as forest bathing or to help protect these beautiful giants for future generations and nurture future trees. If I could give this book more than five stars I would, it's absolutely stunning!!!

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since lockdown I have increasingly found myself drawn to trees and woods..The bear and I regularly walk amongst the trees..I’ve never really understood why I feel so happy and so calm here but this book has helped me understand more of the psychology behind my love of trees.
Tree Glee is a glorious celebration of all things trees. Subtitled ‘How and Why Trees Make Us Better’ this has a bit of everything! Divided into 3 sections - Appreciation, Connection, Reciprocation - the book looks at the importance of trees, their impact on mental health, the role of trees in climate change..This is about our connection to trees, what we can learn from them, how they are part of beliefs and rituals..The book includes stories of ancient trees such as that of Hussar Saraf who recently claimed the world record for the most types of fruit on a single tree..
There is so much in this wonderful book that I find it really hard to summarise it, so I am going to tell you about how I have been reading it. Each of the sections is divided into little titled sections - see photos - I have been using each one as an opportunity for learning and reflection, dipping in each day and finding something new. Each section suggests some wonderful activities and I have been trying out some of them. One activity was to go into the woods mindfully, find a tree and take six different photos without worrying about composition..I have been writing tree poetry and sketching tress..I have written about my tree twin..
I feel like this book is going to be an invaluable resource and I plan to carry on using it daily as a starting point for mindfulness. There are so many more activities that I want to try! If I climb a tree I’ll let you know. When the weather is better I plan to follow the guidance for Forest Bathing. I would be so happy to receive this as a gift and I think it would make a fantastic present.

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[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book! I have always appreciated nature and felt the benefits of being outside, particularly among the trees, but this book has revealed a whole world of trees I never knew existed. Cheryl writes in a easy way, taking us through her personal connection with trees and then linking it to both ancient wisdom and modern research on well-being. The chapter on the senses particularly resonated with me. The photographs throughout the book are stunning and made me ache to get out in the woods! This is a book I feel I would read again and again.

[Simi k · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book creates a great connection between Mother Nature, and your overall wellbeing. It mentions a lot of interesting information on how trees make us feel better, and how it could potentially help us in ways. I won’t add any spoilers as this book is a great read. I learned a lot of information which is why this is a great read! I’ve started to incorporate the information I’ve learned in my lifestyle, and reconnected with Mother Nature! It’s a relaxing read, and I highly recommend it!

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book!

[Matt Glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of teaching, stories, suggestions and challenges about our relationship to trees.

[Ann Parkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book with some amazing tree pictures in it too. A nurturing and fascinating read. If you love trees you will love this book.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a nature enthusiast I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The cover and the photos within on their own are stunning and I proudly have this displayed on my bookshelf and have been back just to flick through the photos (it would have been nice to have had the location and photographer credit on the pictures). I particular enjoyed the chapter on tree bathing and this has sparked a keen interest that I am going to be exploring more going forward. I am also on the look out for ‘my tree’ and for 2023 I plan to spend time beside it to see how it changes throughout the seasons. Very inspiring read.