Ebury signs Allen's 'ground-breaking' book on connecting with nature

Ebury has scooped a "ground-breaking" book from geologist turned outdoor psychotherapist Ruth Allen titled Weathering. 

Editorial director Robyn Drury acquired world all language rights from Maddy Belton at Graham Maw Christie. It will be published in hardback, audio and e-book in spring 2024. 

Originally trained as a geologist, Allen now specialises in movement and nature-based practice, nature connection and relational embodiment. She is also the supervisory director of "Rooted for Girls", a woodland based psycho-educational program for teenage girls in the north of England. Allen’s first book, Grounded (Welbeck), was published in 2021. In Weathering she will explore the lessons that geology and "the deep time of enduring landscapes" can teach readers about how to live well by providing strategies for living well-rounded, centred and connected lives. 

"I was blown away by the invigorating insight of Ruth’s proposal, and the book will showcase her utterly unique perspective as an outdoor psychotherapist who uses her training in geology to explore the way humans can attune the rhythms of their life to those of the landscape," said Drury. "Like rocks, we weather changes in condition in our lives that erode and refine us, and Ruth’s elegant and profound writing reminds us how finding connection through nature can help us to live grounded, fully-embodied lives."

Allen added: "I am incredibly excited to be working with Robyn at Ebury to bring Weathering to life. This is a book I have been thinking about, and dreaming into life, for a long time and I hope it offers the reader a fresh new perspective on the-taken-for-granted ground we walk on and how that speaks to me in the perennially fascinating work of therapy. I don’t think geology and therapy have been covered together before, so I am picking up the challenge to offer something interesting and helpful with bags of both energy and nerves!"

Belton commented: "Offering a new perspective on the human experience, Weathering is a beautifully written, wise book that will make you reconsider the ground beneath your feet. Ruth is a delight to work with and I am excited to watch her grow as an author with Ebury."