Book review: The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, And More Creative

Nature in ‘health benefits’ shock! There is not much controversy in Florence Williams’s impassioned and thorough exploration of nature’s impact on our bodies, psyches and creativity — but that is not the point.

Florence Williams

WW Norton & Co, £20; ebook, £11.39

Sparked by her own anxiety, following a move from Colorado’s semi-wilderness to DC’s concrete jungle, Williams leaves no stone, boulder or awe-inspiring mountain unturned in seeking scientific validation that nature is good for you.

Her globe-trotting mission encompasses neuroscience, fractals and Wordsworth, consistently and persuasively concluding that a little nature = good; a bit more nature = great; even more = amazing.

Williams herself undergoes little transformation, remaining cynical on the use of tech in bringing nature to the masses, for instance, but her unfettered joy in the outdoors is infectious and ultimately makes The Nature Fix a rousing call-to-arms for our urbanised, connected society to smell the roses while we still can.