A wonderful book - full of awe and wonder

Julia’s book is an engaging mix of spirituality, philosophy, autobiography, natural history, feminism and faith and the central topic is awe and wonder. The first chapters are beautifully written, evocative and inspiring, they reminded me very much of Anam Cara. Her interpretation of phosphoresence starts with the natural phenomenon and then branches out into how people can be phosphorescent and light up the world by their very nature.

Julia then moves onto feminism and brings in her experiences from living in New York as well as her native Australia. Some of this is autobiographical in nature and looks at how faith can be warped and used to oppress. Julia has a strong faith herself but she talks about her experience and how it has helped her so this wasn’t off putting for people of other, or no, belief.

She is also very candid about her experience of going through cancer and how important her family, friends and beliefs were in getting her through the surgeries and treatment and back to full health. For anyone who’s had cancer, or trying to support someone with it, her words capture the maelstrom of emotions very well. I found her openness inspiring and comforting. She finally gets to experience the beauty and awe of a phosphorescent sea for herself, and after all her searching the fact that this is on her doorstep feels like coming home at the end of a philosophical journey.

All in all Julia takes phosphoresence and runs with it letting the topic take her where it will. It, in its various forms, and wonder are the unifying forces of her book. I gave her book four stars because I found some of the segues between views a bit jarring but when you find that some parts of the book had been previously published as articles this makes sense. I found the book, by turns, inspiring, thought provoking, and true to Julia’s intent full of wonder.

I was given this book from the author via netgalley only for the pleasure of reading and leaving an honest review should I choose to.

I wanted this book to be so much more than it was. Baird's main argument is 'nature is good for us, we need to spend more time in it'. While this is, undoubtedly, true she makes no strides to delve any deeper into the root of the problem. Yes, we can be glued to our phones and yes we spend a lot of time doing things that are bad for our mental health but there are plenty of barriers between us and nature that need to be destroyed to make access equitable. 

This lack of depth is shown by the statistics and reports she quotes from. Most, if not all, of the studies drawn from have small pools of subjects from very similar backgrounds. While she does acknowledge this, it does not affect her positing these studies as gospel.

Two studies particularly stood out to me: 
1. '55% of us live in urban areas'. Baird posits this as if she were scolding us, but she doesn't try to understand that this is related to job availability, transport issues and support networks (amongst many other things).

2. 'A survey of 7000 school children...found lower incidences of obesity in greener neighbourhoods'. In a similar fashion, Baird seemingly ignores the fact that usually greener neighbourhoods are more affluent neighbourhoods, where children statistically have access to better food and recreational activites.

This was a complete disappointment. Baird is doing nothing new with this book, simply repeating old arguments and putting the onus on the individual to change as opposed to the system.

Phosphorescence is a good read about making sense of today’s world. I enjoyed it and found some parts really beautiful and uplifting, however some sections seemed a bit bogged down in research and so were more difficult to enjoy.

This is a truly wonderful book. When I first started reading it I admit I wasn’t keen - the first few chapters seemed to contain a lot of different examples referencing the same point but with little context as to how to learn life lessons from it. But I kept reading and the next chapters contained more memoir and personal experience of the author, with fewer referenced examples, and I began to enjoy it a lot more.

Fundamentally, the book is all about how to find joy in life, with a new idea in each chapter. Even though the author has suffered dark periods in her life, and she does talk about these in the book, it is an uplifting read and really makes you feel grateful for what you have, as well as feeling inspired to look at exploring the new ideas discussed in the book.

I enjoyed the chapters about beauty and I loved the letter the author wrote to her daughter - it had a few lessons in it for me too! Chapters range from enjoying poetry, to rebelling against the norm and finding our true selves, to simply having a dog. The chapter on finding your purpose resonated with me; I just wish it had been longer!

This is a very well written, easy to read, uplifting book. There are so many different ways to find joy and I suspect everyone will find at least something here that speaks to them. Highly recommended.

With thanks to Netgalley and William Collins for providing a free review copy. All opinions here are my own.

This was such an amazing book. So we'll written, and so thoughtful and insightful. I highly recommend this book

I'd give Phosphorescence six stars if it were possible. What an absolutely soaring, thought-provoking, joyful read. I actually wasn't sure what to expect with this offering by Julia Baird. The author's search (and explanation) of phosphorescent in the opening pages (swimming in it, watching it, hunting it down!) made me assume i was entering a magical world of nature observation. It's this but is much more than that! What's joyful for the author and what sustains her is food for all of us. Such a beautiful life affirming read.

Phosphorescence: On Awe, Wonder and Things That Sustain You When the World Goes Dark by Julia Baird is a mix of science, memoir and self-help.

It my normal genre so did struggle a little but what I did enjoy was inspiring.

I think I’d probably have e joyed this more as an audio book as struggled to read and for it to retain my attention

This book gripped me from the very first page. I found it fascinating and so enjoyable. Further reading reminded me of how we must remember mindfulness in our daily lives.
We need to take stock of our actions and the reciprocal reactions. A great thoughtful book.

I won’t be publishing this review, as I’m afraid I found this book pretty inspiring. It felt a little too much like lots of other books on similar subjects, and said very little original. Such a shame as I was really expecting an exhilarating read, inspired by nature and its power to enhance our lives.

Amazing cover design though.

Excellent read - I learned a lot. Doesn't really fit one category, part bio, part science, part philosophy. Very very interesting and worth checking out. Julia Baird is a brilliant writer and speaker!

Phosphorescence is a deeply personal exploration of what can sustain us through our darkest moments complete with dazzling prose and real heart and soul. We know what it feels like to be happy, content and at peace. When we feel this way we seek out life’s experiences with a sense of optimism and hope. But what do we do when confronted by the muck of our daily existence, or when our world feels out of control? Is it possible to access a light – our own source of phosphorescence – that can ward off the darkness? In this wise and inspiring book, Julia Baird reflects on her encounters with phosphorescence, a luminescent phenomenon found in the natural world, and how she was able to cultivate her own ‘inner light’ in times of adversity. After surviving a difficult heartbreak and battle with cancer, acclaimed author and columnist Julia Baird began thinking deeply about how we, as people, persevere through the most challenging circumstances. She started to wonder, when we are overwhelmed by illness, loss or pain, or a tragedy outside our control: How can we keep putting one foot in front of the other? Baird went in search of the magic that fuels the light within—our own phosphorescence.

Throughout the book she reflects on the things that lit her way through the darkness, especially the surprising strength found in connecting with nature and not just experiencing awe and wonder about the world around her, but deliberately hunting it, daily. Weaving together a candid and moving memoir with deep research and reflections on nature and the world around her, Baird inspires readers to embrace new habits and to adopt a phosphorescent outlook on life, to illuminate ourselves and our days—even in the darkest times. It's a fascinating, life-affirming and inspiring read full of emotion, raw honesty and a whole host of empowering information accessible and understandable to everyone. This is a beautifully written, refreshingly original book and not only is it absorbing, achingly beautiful and deeply moving, but Julia Baird has penned exactly the book we need for these unprecedented and anxiety-ridden times. A rich and luminous meditation on navigating periods of adversity, Julia’s intimate study of phosphorescence contains multitudes of hard-won wisdom with a unique philosophical focus on what nature can teach us about living. Highly recommended.