Gardening Nude

Gardening Nude; a Common Sense Guide to Improving Your Health and Lifestyle By Increasing Exposure to Nature, Cultivating a Green Mindset, and Building a Strong Community
by Shawna Lee Coronado

170 pages
The Casual Gardener Company (2008)
List price: $18.95



Let's set the record straight right from the start. Shawna isn't promoting gardening in the buff. But the title got your attention, didn't it? That's just what she wants to do, to guide and motivate you to live a better life.

In Gardening Nude, Shawna tells how she went from her corporate America, high-stress job that was literally making her sick, to her current life, where she enjoys good health by doing good things. Lots of good things.

I met Shawna in person last May, when I attended Spring Fling Chicago, a convention of garden bloggers. She lit up the room with her genuine enthusiasm for life, and as such, was a convincing ambassador for what she outlines in her book. There's meat behind her concepts:

• Increase your exposure to nature
• Cultivate a green mindset
• Build a strong community

She calls it the Get Your Green On Healthy Philosophy and this book is a manual for doing just that. One of my favorite chapters is number seven: "Strip Away The Excuses - How To Make The Conservation Plan A Reality." How many of us make excuses for why we can't live a greener lifestyle? Chapter four is similar, with her steps for the Go Green Health Plan.

Appendices in the back of the book provide sources for products and more information. Though the book only has 170 pages, Shawna has managed to pack an incredible amount of information for all of us to improve our health and our community. She shows us how little things add up to make a big difference. We can all do more.

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Shawna Coronado is an author, locally syndicated newspaper columnist, energetic speaker, and environmental and health correspondent. Shawna has been featured on ABC News (Chicago), WGN 9 News (Chicago), Oklahoma Gardening TV and Local Access 10 TV. Special written features on Shawna can be found on CNN Health, Chicago Tribune Local, and The Daily Herald.

She lives in the Chicago area with her husband, daughter, and Harry the Pug, and can be found online at The Casual Gardener.

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The product or merchandise being reviewed in this blog post was the sole compensation for testing and reviewing the product. All opinions expressed here are mine, with no suggestions whatsoever by the manufacturer or distributor. If I like it, I'll say so. If I don't, I'll say that, too.