“When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, ”Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, ”It’s simple,” they say,
”and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”
Recommended Reading
I read a lot, both as a person and as a practitioner. I am delighted to share some of the books and authors that have had an impact on me.
This section will always be a work in progress… check back soon for updated lists!
Whenever possible, please frequent libraries and support small, independent bookstores, which need us now more than ever.
Ecotherapy & Nature-based Therapy
Healing Trees - Ben Page
The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative - Florence Williams
Nature Therapy: How to Use Ecotherapy to Boost Your Sense of Well-Being - Remy Dambron
Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind - Edited by Roszak, Gomes & Kanner
Somatic Therapy & Embodiment
Body First Healing - Brittany Piper
Returning Home to Our Bodies: Reimagining the Relationship Between Our Bodies and the World - Abigail Rose Clarke
Shinrin Yoku (Forest Bathing)
Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness - Dr. Qing Li
Your Guide to Forest Bathing: Experience the Healing Power of Nature - M. Amos Clifford
Social Justice
The Body is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love - Sonya Renee Taylor
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending our Hearts and Bodies - Resmaa Menakem
How to be an Antiracist - Ibram X Kendi
Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor - Layla F. Saad
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism - Robin Diangelo
The Racial Healing Handbook: Practical Activities to Help You Challenge Privliege, Confront Systemic Racism & Engage in Collective Healing - Anneliese A. Singh.
Climate Crisis Anxiety & Eco-Grief
Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power - Joanna Macy & Chris Johnstone
This Sweet Earth: Walking with our Children in the Age of Climate Collapse - Lydia Wylie-Kellerman
Fascinating Reads:
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change our Minds, & Shape our Futures - Merlin Sheldrake
Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home - Toko-pa Turner
Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer
Healing Trauma
The Heart of Trauma: Healing the Embodied Brain in the Context of Relationships - Bonnie Badenoch
Stress & Burnout Recovery
Burnout: the Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle - Emily Nagoski & Amelia Nagoski
Writers, Poets, Word Magicians…
Yung Pueblo
Mary Oliver
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Morgan Harper Nichols
Instagram - @dragonflyecotherapy
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“Between every two pine trees is a door leading to a new way of life.”
—John Muir, Naturalist, Author, “Father of the National Parks”