Florence Williams

With a string of long-form articles on such topics as forest bathing, the effects of natural fractal patterns on our brains, the science of negative sounds and the benefits of nature for kids with ADHD, Florence Williams is a leading nature writer who works at the intersection of health, science and the environment. She is a contributing editor at Outside magazine, and her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Mother Jones and Slate. Her first book, the 2012 Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History, received the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in science and technology. Recently, she traveled around the world — from forest trails in Korea to American deserts and islands in Finland — on a quest to investigate the science behind nature and well-being. The results became the foundation for her new book, The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Creative, an illuminating read for anyone who’s ever wondered why it feels so good to take a walk in the woods. Measurements of everything from stress hormones to heart rate to brain waves, she writes, indicate that when we spend time in green space, “there is something profound going on.”