Julia Bradbury book review

Connecting with nature has helped Countryfile television star Julia Bradbury to recover from her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.

In her new book Walk Yourself Happy, she writes passionately about the importance of getting outside every day and making nature your friend and therapist.

She explains how our ancestral selves responded innately to the colour green but today we spend so much of our time indoors and looking at blue screens that we have lost touch with ourselves.

Julia grew up in the Peak District where she regularly went on walks with her dad and fell in love with the landscape.

Going through gruelling breast cancer treatment made her re-examine her life and look at ways she could regain a balance in her life.

Her book contains practical tips and advice, stories from case studies and expert opinion from scientists. It is part self-help and part-memoir and all about how to walk yourself happy both mentally and physically. She says walking, which she calls a human superpower, is one of the most accessible activities for most of us, and is the fastest and easiest way to embed yourself in nature.

After returning home from hospital after her treatment, Julia made a promise to herself that she would spend time outside every day, which she has kept because she says it has helped her to heal. She knows the importance of building nature into your everyday life so you can eat well, sleep better and move more. It’s a powerful read.