Beyond the Front Door - by Josée Bergeron (Paperback)

About the Book

Calling families to return to nature, Bergeron offers simple solutions for how to increase outdoor time and, as a result, overall mental health.

Book Synopsis

Calling families to return to nature, Bergeron offers simple solutions for how to increase outdoor time and, as a result, overall mental health.

Parents are stressed, anxious, and exhausted. Their children are spending an average of five to seven hours on screens and mere minutes outside each day. This book is for every family who is desperate to detach from screens and find some fun and engaging family time together. Whether you live in a big city, in the suburbs, or out in the country, Josee Bergeron will help you find creative and simple ways to bring the rhythm of nature into your daily routine, just beyond your front door. Following the four seasons, each section contains unique themes and topics to bring families closer to the outdoors in order to improve their mental health and happiness. Bergeron encourages everyone to feel at home in nature and she offers practical ideas for helping you connect with nature through curiosity and relatability. Families can incorporate cultural traditions when interacting with nature and can honor the inherent attributes of the particular land they live on. Whether it's welcoming spring by weaving a wildflower crown, celebrating summer by building a bug hotel, appreciating autumn by preserving leaves in beeswax, or creating a magical ice wreath in winter, families will learn how to embrace nature's seasons and be more in tune with each other and their communities.

Review Quotes

"Children develop a love of nature not by looking at it, nor by walking through it, and certainly not by being lectured about it. They develop a love of nature by playing in it and with it. Josée Bergeron has provided us with a wonderful guide for enabling, encouraging, and enriching such play."

-- "Peter Gray, Research Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and author of Free to Learn"

"Beyond the Front Door is your cue to ditch the guilt, grab the kids, and head outside - no fancy gear or flawless plans required. Blending heartfelt storytelling, research, and Indigenous wisdom, Josée Bergeron offers creative ways to reconnect with nature and each other in every season, rain or shine. Refreshingly honest and judgment-free, it's the parenting guide you've been waiting for."

-- "Linda Åkeson McGurk, author of There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather and The Open-Air Life"

"Beyond the Front Door stopped me in my tracks, made me think, cry, reconsider my choices, and take action to give my family more of the wild life they deserve. The book is honest, insightful, useful, readable, and relatable. This book is like a joyful, playful, practical friend, opening the door, taking us by the hand, and leading us back into the world."

-- "John Muir Laws, Nature Stewardship through Science, Education, and Art, author of The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling"