La mente bien ajardinada

A garden is an ideal refuge to escape from the hustle and bustle of the world and connect with nature. However, we know very little about the true benefits of gardening. Recent research shows that, when practiced, prisoners are less likely to reoffend, young people at risk of exclusion tend to persevere in the educational system, and the elderly live longer and better. Packed with scientific curiosities and exciting human stories, The Well-Landscaped Mind is a powerful combination of neuroscience, literature, history and psychoanalysis that delves into the secret that many gardeners have always known: contact with nature can radically transform our health and self-esteem. Sue Stuart-Smith, distinguished psychiatrist, passionate gardener, and brilliant storyteller, weaves together examples such as the key role of horticulture for her grandfather after World War I, Freud's obsession with flowers, and curious medical histories of her own patients. her. With all this, it convinces us to what extent the connection with the cycles of nature (in which, after decomposition, life sprouts again) can influence us, of the many ways in which the mind and the garden interact and of the idea that sinking our hands into the ground can be a way to take care of ourselves.