Fall Reading List

Fall is a great time to kick back and enjoy a good book. As the seasons change and the nights get longer I find reading a great way to pass the evening. As an added bonus, the outdoors are calling. Cuddle up with a book and enjoy the weather. Here is my picks for a fall reading list.

The Wild Remedy

Emma Mitchell is a naturalist and artist from the UK. In this book she shares how Seasonal Effective Disorder (SAD) affects her depression. It is incredibly vulnerable while being inspiring. She writes about the winter she had a low point and contemplated suicide and how nature helped her find a way out.

In addition to a conversational style (like hearing a story from a friend), the book is simply stunning. It is filled with Mitchell’s photography and drawings.

She is truly an inspiration. Who doesn’t love a woman who would drive 2 hours to see a rare butterfly? She has inspired me to be more intentional in my nature ramblings. I have decided to try my hand at drawing and really get serious with my photography.

She also has a very vibrant instagram account it is worth following.

The Wild Remedy, by Emma Mitchell

Women Who Run With the Wolves

While The Wild Remedy is a great easy read, Women Who Run With the Wolves is decidedly NOT easy. However, it is totally work it to wade your way through the 400+ page book as you learn more about how myth is a metaphor for the psyche.

It took me a little bit to figure out the layout of the book. Each chapter focuses on a myth such as Baba Yaga or The Ugly Duckling. Estes shares a literary telling of the story. Then she breaks the myth down element by element and character by character. She writes how each of these elements are metaphors for a stage of growth in our personal pysche.

It is not for the faint of heart and full disclosure I have had to set it aside several times. But I definitely feel that it has been life changing for me. If you feel ready to move into your next stage of development it is a great tool.

Women Who Run With the Wolves, by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

To Speak for Trees

Beresford-Kroger is one of the few Europeans I know of who still has a connection to traditional Celtic culture that has been largely unchanged by colonialism. In this book she shares how her upbringing as an orphan or as she refers to it “everyone’s child” allowed her to have many teachers that helped her see the beauty of the natural world.

This upbringing lead to a love of nature and eventually a career as a naturalist.

I often feel disconnected with my ancestral past. This is one of the reasons I was particularly drawn to this book. Though it is still on my “to read list,” I wanted to share it will you right away.

To Speak for Trees, by Diana Beresford-Kroger

Making Winter

Mitchell is back as the author of this project book for winter months. However, I feel that the weather that she described in “The Wild Remedy” is more closely related to my fall. The projects in here likewise would also make great fall projects as you transition to cooler weather.

In addition to projects there is meditations and beauty galore. It is very inspirational. Get creating! There are even some herbal recipes.

Making Winter, by Emma Mitchell

A Seed is Sleepy

I didn’t want to leave out the kids. This is the time of year when many plants are creating seeds that will sleep through the winter. This beautiful color story is a great introduction to kids of all ages about what seed are.

I actually love looking through the pictures and meditating on them.

A Seed is Sleepy, by Diana Aston