Book Passage in Corte Madera - The Nature Fix

For centuries, poets and philosophers extolled the benefits of a walk in the woods: Beethoven drew inspiration from rocks and trees; Wordsworth composed while tromping over the heath; and Nikola Telsa conceived the electric motor while visiting a park. Intrigued by our storied renewal in the natural world, Forence Williams set out to uncover the science behind nature's positve effects on the brain. In this informative and entertaining account, Williams investigates cutting-edge research as she travels to fragrant cypress forests in Korea to meet the rangers who administer "forest healing programs", to the green hills of Scotland and its "ecotherapeutic" approach to caring for the mentally ill, to a river trip in Idaho with Iraqi vets suffering from PTSD, to the West Virginia mountains where she discovers how being outside helps children with ADHD. In prose that is incisive, witty, and urgent, Williams shows how time in nature is not a luxury but is in fact essential to our humanity. As our modern lives shift dramatically indoors, these ideas - and the answer they yield - are more urgent than ever. We hope you can join us for this engaging evening. Kids are welcome!

Florence Wiliams, is touring with her new book The Nature Fix which shows that our connection to nature is much more important to our cognition than we think and that even small amounts of exposure to the living world can improve our creativity and enhance our mood. Flo is a journalist and contributing editor to Outside Magazine, and National Geographic among others. Her first book, Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History, was a New York Times Notable Book of 2012 and a winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. She lives in Washington, DC and is married to Jamie Williams, President of The Wilderness Society. 

Meeting location: Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera, CA 94925