Melanie Murphy: lockdown walks and nature's healing power

In her latest novel, social media sensation-turned-author Melanie Murphy writes about nature -  a theme that is close to her heart. Here, she writes about the long lockdown walks that helped her cope throughout the Covid crisis

Melanie Murphy: Covid crisis was marked by a crippling fear of the unknown. Pic: Lucy Nuzum

Enchanting birdsong was the sound of April 2020 - the dawn of my reconnection with nature and consequently, the best mental health chapter of my life. I first noticed the striking absence of man-made sound in the weeks before, as Leo announced the first Covid lockdown. 

All I could think about during that speech was the fact that all of our preparations for our wedding that week were in tatters; the wine for the reception was in the boot of our car, the venue was paid for, guests coming from abroad had already checked in for their flights. My Dad recalls me hurling the TV remote at the wall and screaming at the top of my lungs. It wasn’t just the sense of loss (money, time, energy, memories we wouldn’t get to make) or the pregnancy hormones (I was nearing the end of my first trimester), it was this crippling fear, of the known and the unknown.