‘The wisest book I’ve read for many years … Much more than a gardening book, much more than a guide to mental health … Hugely recommended’ Stephen Fry

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

How can getting outdoors help us to look after our mental health?

In a powerful combination of contemporary neuroscience, psychoanalysis and brilliant storytelling, The Well Gardened Mind investigates the magic that many gardeners have known for years – working with nature can radically transform our health, wellbeing and confidence.

Prisoners given the chance to grow plants are less likely to reoffend.

At-risk young people who get their hands in the soil are more likely to stay in education.

Elderly people who garden live longer and have a better quality of life.

Sue Stuart-Smith tells brilliant, illuminating stories of people struggling with stress, depression, trauma and addiction, from asylum seekers to veterans, inner-city young people to the retired.

This is a glorious book of science, insight and anecdote that shows how our understanding of nature and its restorative powers is only just beginning to flower.

‘An important and timely book … Beautifully written, drawing on a lifetime’s experience as both a clinician and a gardener, and I urge everyone to read it’

MONTY DON

‘Riveting, inspiring and often very moving … A lively, compassionate exhortation for us all to get our hands back in the soil’

ISABELLA TREE

‘A compelling and deeply moving account of how profoundly our wellbeing can be affected through contact with gardening and the natural world … Read it’

EDMUND DE WAAL

About the author

A prominent psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Sue Stuart-Smith took her degree in English literature at Cambridge before qualifying as a doctor and a psychiatrist. She worked for the National Health Service for many years, becoming the lead clinician in psychotherapy in Hertfordshire. She currently teaches at The Tavistock Clinic in London and is consultant to the DocHealth service. She is married to Tom Stuart-Smith, the celebrated garden designer, and, over 30 years together, they have created the wonderful Barn Garden in Hertfordshire.

https://www.suestuartsmith.com/

@suestuartsmith (Twitter and Instagram)