A self-described “renegade scientist,” Diana Beresford-Kroeger brings together ethnobotany, horticulture, spirituality, and alternative medicine to reveal a path toward better stewardship of the natural world.

Her new collection of essays, The Sweetness of a Simple Life: Tips for Healthier, Happier and Kinder Living Gleaned from the Wisdom and Science of Nature, offers advice on everything from the benefits of eating black walnuts and sleeping more to eschewing industrial food.

“Diana convincingly interweaves her scientific expertise and her extensive knowledge of ancient aboriginal wisdom and practices,” writes renowned physicist and University of Toronto professor emeritus Dr. Ursula Franklin.

Of Diana’s previous book, The Global Forest: Forty Ways Trees Can Save Us, an international bestseller, Quill and Quire noted: “Beresford-Kroeger’s own writing emulates the storyteller’s oral tradition, which proves to be an effective means of presenting pithy and sometimes radical ideas.”

She is also the author of Arboretum America: A Philosophy of the Forest; and A Garden for Life: The Natural Approach to Designing, Planting, and Maintaining a North Temperate Garden.

Occasionally, Diana invites the public to explore her sprawling research gardens in Merrickville, Ontario, where she lives. She grows more than 100 types of trees, including rare firs and disease-resistant chestnuts, elms, and butternut.

Publisher’s page: www.randomhouse.ca/books/225339/the-sweetness-of-a-simple-life-by-diana-beresford-kroeger

Photo Credit: Erika Beresford-Kroeger

Website: www.dianasjourney.com