Book 2 Post 2

 Book 1 Post 2 - Losing Eden: Why Our Minds Need the Wild, by Lucy Jones

Losing Eden: Why Our Minds Need the Wild, by Lucy Jones, was a wonderful read. Though I experienced some confusion in the beginning, I listened to the first two hours of the audiobook for a second time and found myself right back on track. One thing that I really enjoyed about the audiobook is that it is actually read by Jones herself. Though I have not read the book, I can imagine that I gained a higher level of connection with Jones by listening to her read the book to me. The part about her addiction and how nature to some extent healed her alcoholism really hit home with me. As someone who comes from a family that has struggled with alcoholism, I felt a deep connection with Jones and her time in treatment. The description of the pear tree in her rehabilitation facility and her healing connection to that tree was quite interesting to me. When you are beaten down, discouraged, feeling hopeless, feeling worthless, surrounded by mental agony and physical pain, it is comforting to know that something as simple as a pear tree can be a source of light in the darkness of your situation. 

My expectations for this book differed much from what I gained in listening to it. I thought that the book would be more about Lucy, her children, and how her journey through life raised her appreciation for nature. Though these were aspects of the book, I felt that the majority of the book took a more argumentative and descriptive approach. Jones provides so much evidence as to why humans need nature. We are so much happier when nature is a part of our lives. Jones explains how this is not only psychological but biological as well. Take something as simple as dirt. Dirt has properties in it that actually increase the happiness of people, especially children. So, next time I am watching my cousins (3 and 5 years old) play in the dirt and my older cousin (their mom) tells them to stop getting so dirty, I am going to pull a page from Jones's playbook and explain why it is actually beneficial for her children to "get dirty" so to speak. 

My biggest takeaway from Losing Eden is that humans and nature have been, and should always be, interconnected. To bring it further, humans and nature must be interconnected for the sake of humankind and for the pulse of mother nature. In modern society, we have been taught, even if it is by accident, that humans and nature are separate. Because we are so far removed from our natural home (nature), we think of the ground as dirty, we think of the forest as scary and contaminating, and we do not view ourselves as a part of nature but rather as something separate. This ideology, I am sure, will lead to the demise of humankind and the destruction of Earth. Overall, I think that Jones's book is a must-read. I plan on applying much of what I have learned from this book into my own life and will ensure to place those same principles I plan on learning now into the lives of my children if I someday am blessed enough to bring life into this world.