Walking Therapist's Guide to Yellow Kite

Yellow Kite has pre-empted a book by "walking therapist" Jonathan Hoban called Walk with your Wolf. 

World rights in the book, about "understanding our landscape and reconnecting with the wilderness in order to help process and overcome emotional difficulties", were acquired by Liz Gough, publisher at Yellow Kite, from Jaime Marshall of J P Marshall Literary Agency. 

The book - which is part memoir, part self-help - reflects on its author's own "healing journey" as well as offering practical guidance and a "how-to" for de-stressing.

In Hoban's work with creative professionals he found he main cause of burnout was often "a lack of personal clarity". But, he asserts, the "primal reconnection" his clients could achieve through walking therapy and reconnecting with the outdoors proved "one of the most effective ways to decompress from the stresses and strains of everyday life". It can help to reduce anxiety and work stress, as well as diabetes, dementia, anger, blood pressure and depression, he said. 

The "wolf" in the book's title is the author's "shadow animal" representing "the unknown; our deepest, darkest feelings". According to Yellow Kite, he draws on this analogy to give readers the courage to be vulnerable and honest with themselves – taking a walk through their thoughts and troubles and leading them to a place where they have a positive outlook. 

Gough said she believed the book had what it took to become "a classic' in the mental-health genre. "I love the reflections on nature, and the examples he gives of real people for whom nature has played a part in their recovery are insightful and motivating. I’m really thrilled to have this on the list," she said.

Observing work stress to be currently at "epidemic proportions", Holban added: "I am extremely happy to be sharing an approach with everyone that has been so very effective with my clients, one that can help shine a light at the end of the tunnel". 

Yellow Kite will publish in Spring 2019 in hardback.