Grounded: How connection with nature can improve our mental and physical wellbeing

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In that same vein, Grounded's user interface could also benefit from further streamlining. The crafting, building, progression, questing, and inventory systems are all fairly extensive, but Grounded's awkward menu management doesn't make the navigation of those systems as simple or straightforward as it should be – actively resisting against player intuition at its worst. This is more than a cute kitty caper with humorous airport antics: it’s a thought-provoking adventure about growing up and the need for individuality, independence, and autonomy." The Horn Book Magazine I’m Ruth Allen (PhD, MNCS) and I’m an outdoor and online counselling psychotherapist, professional development coach, and experienced consultant, trainer and facilitator. I offer weekly sessions through to multi-day journeys, for individuals, pairs and groups. It can be grindy sometimes, though. Like any survival game, some of your time will be taken up by scavenging for ingredients, and some are easier to come by than others (thank the lord for the sap catcher, as I struggle to see the stuff out in the wild), but there's no race here. No time limits. The main draw of the 1.0 version will be the inclusion of the (fascinating) story elements, something players have been calling for, and whilst this new feature has been woven skillfully around its the sandbox elements, Grounded is one of those wonderful playgrounds that thrives even without a story mode; we know, because thousands of people have already invested thousands of hours doing so. This book was recommended to me by a friend as a source of inspiration for practical activities to help the body find improved wellbeing through activities in nature. Ruth's style of writing brings this all to life with simplicity, clarity, inner wisdom, and a light touch of theory. The images in the book set the scene so beautifully as well. It is more than a self-help book - it is a feast of opportunity for being in nature. A book I now have many post-it notes in and can use to support my personal well-being and workshops with others”

Grounded review - a delightful mix of harsh survival and warm Grounded review - a delightful mix of harsh survival and warm

Grounded has been described as “intensely alive to the landscape” by Robert Macfarlane, author of Underland and The Lost Words, and “a vivid exploration…brimming with warmth and gentleness” by Keggie Carew, author of Dadland and Beastly. GROUNDED has featured in BBC Wildlife Magazine, Countryfile Magazine and Ecopsychology UK amongst others. This is an aesthetically wonderful collection of chapters covering a range of interlinking topics that can help you feel more grounded and in touch with yourself and the natural world around you. A mixture of the authors personal experience as a therapist, activities and ideas to help you engage with nature, and subtle academic referencing leads to a beautiful read with a fine balance that it is clear the author has worked hard to achieve. This is all overplayed on some remarkably beautiful nature photography that makes you want to take your time reading. What I really liked about this book is that the author has successfully managed to combine the gravitas of a 'serious' book with the light touch of an illustrated 'coffee table' book. It is unusual to find a book like this and quite a feat to mix the genres. It could have not worked but it does.Given your small stature and the massive scale of the world around you, Grounded does a great job of making you feel as if you're out of your depth at every turn. (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios) I've read numerous books about (re)connecting with nature, many very good indeed, but Dr Ruth Allen's Grounded is the stand-out work. It is clearly written with love, compassion and clarity by someone with a deep understanding of the subject. I can be easily discouraged, I confess, by content that I find rather esoteric, but Grounded is accessible, engaging, intelligent and highly practical, encouraging both reflection and practice. I have returned to it many times and it has proven a constant source of comfort and stimulation as I instil and renew my connection to, and part in, nature.” I knew a bit about the impact of our soil but pairing it with the creative source within in all of us was a new perspective. We are soil and soil is us. This book is a call to action for us to take small and large steps toward regenerating our soil. Sequestering carbon can be the single most impactful act in slowing the climate change freight train. McMorrow purports healing ourselves and our rat race of a culture which is on a screaming course to disaster, is a key parallel act we must undertake if we are to make true and lasting changes. Four kids meet at an airport for one unforgettable night in this middle-grade novel by four bestselling and award-winning authors—Aisha Saeed, Huda Al-Marashi, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, and S. K. Ali.

Grounded: How connection with nature can improve our me…

I wanted to dive into the nature of those places, of who was there before us and how they saw the lands we now walk so that we can learn from our ancestors and perhaps rediscover the sacredness in our landscape so we might better protect it. The student-focused guide to grounded theory, this book takes you step by step through the whole research process, from creating a research proposal to sharing your findings. The most promising feature of Grounded is that there's always room to grow, then, but even if Obsidian decided to call it quits now, it could do so proud of what it has accomplished here. This small game with a big heart is ultimately a successful experiment, and while the tension between its two identities of role-playing and survival-crafting results in some noticeable tension points, the marriage between the two remains a happy union overall. I love this book so much. It feels like it has in some small way opened something up within me that has been closed off for a long time; I am very thankful to Ruth for writing such a healing and transformative guide to connecting with nature! I found the section on making meaning toward the end of the chapter on mystery particularly impactful.

It has received a sell-out audience at Kendal Mountain Literature Festival, as well as being featured at Bradford Lit Fest.