Fascinating, thought-provoking and intelligent analysis of our physical and emotional relationship and indeed dependence upon nature. Highly recommended

Everybody Needs Beauty: In Search of a Nature Cure is a fascinating and thought-provoking exploration of the ways in which we humans seek healing from nature and attempt to become as immersed in it and as symbiotic with it as possible. It investigates humankind’s affinity with nature and its connection to our health and wellbeing. In an effort to uncover the long cultural legacy of the ‘nature cure’, Walton sets off to explore landscapes associated with healing – from the miraculous waters of Lourdes, to a turn-of-the-century wilderness retreat in Bethel, Maine, and from the experimental farm of Craiglockhart in Scotland to a laboratory simulating the experience of nature indoors. On her journey, she examines the history and science behind the pull of these spaces, as well as writers like Kate Chopin, John Muir and Nan Shepherd who engaged with them – and asks the important question of just what will happen to our relationship with nature in the face of a rapidly changing environment. It tells the story of how and why we seek nature for health and wellbeing, from sacred springs to forest baths, city parks to the brave new world of virtual nature and why it is all vitally important. 

Everybody Needs Beauty also looks at how climate change will transform this most crucial relationship between our mental health and the earth and asks what we can do to make a difference. This is a captivating and thoroughly engaging nature book packed full of acute observations, evocative descriptions, the practical and the theoretical, all written in rich seamless prose. It is important, prescient writing that is connected to modern life, that is intersectional, open-minded, nuanced – and in its own way, radical. It will transform how you both see and value nature and the properties it collectively holds and it helps you understand that nature is not just a passive medium but more akin to a therapist who is there to help the situation whenever they're needed and who is never off duty. The intelligent analysis coupled with the scientific weight of many of the words combine to form a call to action. At a moment when the environment is as much a source of anxiety as healing, it feels particularly vital to reveal our physical—and emotional—dependence on nature. An intriguing look at the connection between nature, well-being and eco-recovery structured into 8 eminently readable chapters. Highly recommended.