Whether on a walk a city park, local nature preserve, or national wilderness area, the wonders and healing power of nature are accessible to all. To enhance the experience and foster mindful observation, curiosity, and introspection, poet and nature lover Hannah Fries combines her own reflections and guided mindfulness exercises with a curated selection of inspirational writing from poets, naturalists, artists, scientists, and thinkers throughout the centuries and across cultures, including Japanese haiku masters, nineteenth-century European Romantics, American Transcendentalists, and contemporary environmentalists. Accompanied by beautiful forest photography, and a foreword by Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass, Being with Trees is a distinctive gift that invites frequent revisiting for fresh insights and inspiration.

Hannah Fries is an award-winning poet, writer, and editor whose work has been featured in numerous publications including Orion, American Poetry Review, Massachusetts Review, and Alaska Quarterly Review. She is the author of Forest Bathing Retreat, and her first book of poetry, Little Terrarium, was published in 2016 by Hedgerow Books. Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and she was awarded a scholarship from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. A native of New Hampshire, Fries is a graduate of Dartmouth College and holds an MFA in poetry from Warren Wilson College. She lives in the woods of western Massachusetts.Robin Wall Kimmerer is the State University of New York Distinguished Teaching Professor at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. She is founding director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. Her books include Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses and Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants.