Tree Climbing Cure

<p>Our relationship with trees is a lengthy complex one. Since we first walked the earth we have at various times worshiped them felled them and even talked to them. For many of us though our first memories of interacting with trees will be of climbing them. <p/>Exploring how tree climbers have been represented in literature and art in Europe and North America over the ages <i>The Tree Climbing Cure </i>unpacks the curative value of tree climbing examining when and why tree climbers climb and what tree climbing can do for (and say about) the climber's mental health and wellbeing. <p/>Bringing together research into poetry novels and paintings with the science of wellbeing and mental health and engaging with myth folklore psychology and storytelling <i>Tree Climber</i> also examines the close relationship between tree climbing and imagination and questions some longstanding problematic gendered injunctions about women climbing trees. <p/>Discussing among others the literary works of Margaret Atwood; Charlotte Bronte; Geoffrey Chaucer; Angela Carter; Kiran Desai; and J.R.R. Tolkien as well as work by artists such as Peter Doig; Paula Rego; and Goya this book stands out as an almost encyclopedic examination of cultural representations of this quirky and ultimately restorative pastime.</p>