Losing Eden: Our Fundamental Need for the Natural World—and Its Ability to Heal Body and Soul

Science is finally catching up to the fact that humans’ well-being depends on being out in nature, writes journalist Jones (Foxes Unearthed) in this moving exploration of “nature as a healing force.” She bolsters her contention that good health and access to the natural world are inextricably linked by surveying the research on nature immersion “from neuroscientists in California to microbiologists in Eastern Europe”; research done at the University of Glasgow that suggests “greener neigbhourhoods which offer a connection with nature might actually reduce the health gap between rich and poor”; studies that explore the ocean’s healing effect on veterans with PTSD; and data that suggests being outside decreases stress hormones. Jones also scours literature for traces of humans’ emotional ties with nature, as with diaries from both world wars in which nature was “uplifting for those in combat.” Along the way, Jones credits her own recovery from addiction in part to the time she spent on nature walks: “It became my rehab: it soothed my rawness and patched me back together.” Equally impassioned and informative, Jones’s survey hits the mark as an urgent plea to get outside. (June)