Customers say
Customers find the book engaging and interesting. They appreciate the insightful and thought-provoking content that explores the connection between the mind and nature. The author draws parallels between gardening and life’s lessons.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
A distinguished psychiatrist and avid gardener presents “a truly uplifting book on the power of gardening – and how it can change people’s lives” (Stylist, UK).
The garden is often seen as a refuge, a place to forget worldly cares, removed from the “real” life that lies outside. When we get our hands in the Earth we connect with the cycle of life in nature through which destruction and decay are followed by regrowth and renewal. Gardening is one of the quintessential nurturing activities and yet we understand so little about it. The Well-Gardened Mind provides a new perspective on the power of gardening to change people’s lives. Here, Sue Stuart-Smith investigates the many ways in which mind and garden can interact and explores how the process of tending a plot can be a way of sustaining an innermost self.
Stuart-Smith’s own love of gardening developed as she studied to become a psychoanalytic psychotherapist. From her grandfather’s return from World War I to Freud’s obsession with flowers to case histories with her own patients to progressive gardening programs in such places as Rikers Island prison in New York City, Stuart-Smith weaves thoughtful yet powerful examples to argue that gardening is much more important to our cognition than we think. Recent research is showing how green nature has direct antidepressant effects on humans. “The most original gardening book ever [that] combines observation, horticulture, literature and history” (Sunday Times, UK), The Well-Gardened Mind is a book for gardeners and non-gardeners alike, and the perfect solace for people seeking healthier mental lives.
by LyJT
Thoughtful and Illuminating Book
I received the book a day earlier than expected. I had just completed a few hours of gardening when it arrived. I started reading it immediately. I have only read the first 3 chapters, but the writing really speaks to me. I agree that gardening, having one’s hands in the dirt, planting bulbs in the fall in anticipation of the spring, and the joy the flowers will bring after yet another harsh winter, are all a recognition that despite loss, a garden provides the opportunity for solace and regrowth in human terms. The author begins her book with the story of her remarkable grandfather and her writing draws you in.I look forward to reading the rest of the book. I think it is a book that all gardeners should have on their shelves; not only gardeners but also people who might become gardeners from reading it. It is already a powerful, inspirational book for me, after only the first three chapters.
by Jim & Jackie
Book review
An excellent read that provides information on the many positive health effects from gardening. We read this in my Master Gardener book club. Everyone thought it worthwhile.
by Amazon Customer
This is a delightful book of meditation
Judging by its title, a casual reader may think that The Well-Gardened Mind is a self help book in which the author argues how people can transform their lives and improve their mental health by taking up the hobby of gardening. Indeed, Sue Stuart-Smith cites many real life examples and scientific evidence to illustrate how prisoners, veterans, at-risk youth, the elderly, and the mentally ill can all benefit from the healing power of gardening.A more discerning reader, however, will know that Stuart-Smith accomplishes a lot more than arguing for the point that every gardener already knew. The garden is magical. It gives pleasure and joy. It has the power to heal. Everyone who has ever tended a garden knows this. But not every gardener knows why. This is where Stuart Smith distinguishes herself from other self help authors. She explains the whys by delving deeper into the existential meaning of doing and being, our relationship to mother earth, our experience of time, cognition in relation to nature, and the cyclical significance of growth and decay, living and dying. In other words, this book offers a lot more than support for mental health. It is a book of meditation on the interconnectedness of all things on earth. An ambitious undertaking no doubt, but highly readable and full of surprises, this book is a must read for everyone.
by Arthur L. Ranney
Engaging, but a bit simplistic
Others in the family thought it offered them some insight into my gardening experience, but as a long-time gardener, I was looking for something a bit more theoretical or philosophical. Maybe because of my gardening experience, or perhaps due to my overall view of the world, it didn’t present me with anything I hadn’t already considered. In short, it affirmed much of what I already believe, but it didn’t challenge me to think in a different way. A bit simplistic — I wanted more to chew on.
by Amazon Customer
Interesting Tead
Iâm reading this book for Master Gardener CE. Itâs interesting and an easy read.
by Gio
Buy the book!!
If you are remotely interested in the topic of this book, BUY IT. It quickly became one of my favorites, it was exactly what I was hoping it would be – maybe even better. It gave me career/higher-calling ideas, but even without that it really is a perfect balance of why gardening and mental health go hand in hand (with modern and ancient examples). If you have PTSD, trauma, depression, anxiety, and/or just like to be in nature this book will give you incredible insight. Sue Stuart-Smith really knows her psychology (I imagine her to be a very kind therapist), and the research she put in to tie her love of gardening into her career of psychology is really something!
by Chanel Blooms
Book Not for me
Unfortunately I didn’t care for this book. It just was not what I expected and so it was not something I even finished. It was very technical and difficult to read.
by alice
Very interesting book. Highly recommend.
The author, who is a psychiatrist, explores the connection between the mind and nature.
by Nella Miller Design
Inspiration and knowledge
by Elaine
This book is amazing thank you so much for writing it. It is well researched and well constructed. It is relatable and honest, it has prompted me to action. Very informative and inspiring.
by Magdalena Lawniczak
great book, highly recommended.
by Andrea Gomez Beick
Es un regalo para mi mamá, cuando abrà el paquete para envolverlo, me di cuenta que no venÃa sellado el libro, y que el protector de polvo venÃa manchado, cómo si alguien con manos sucias lo hubiera manipulado
by jane sacchi
Argumento attuale