Bring Me the Ocean : Nature as Teacher, Messenger, and Intermediary

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Summary: Touches everyone with the power of animal healing
Review: I recently met Rebecca at a conference where she gave a lecture that followed along with the idea of the book. When it was over,I purchased the book and have since read many of the vignettes that it contains. Each story is filled with tender details of how nature and animals have helped people come to grips with illness and sadness. The book shows us how the world around us can help us come to terms with various problems and conditions in life. I work in the field of Animal Assisted Therapy and have found this book an inspiration to what I do. Bring Me An Ocean validates what I see everyday with my dog when we visit hospitals. The gentle touch of an animal or the opportunity for a patient to smell a flower or touch a seashell sometimes provides more healing that all the medicine in the world. For anyone who loves nature and wants to nuture the souls of loved ones who may be ill, or not, this book is a must.

Rating:
Summary: Touches everyone with the power of animal healing
Review: I recently met Rebecca at a conference where she gave a lecture that followed along with the idea of the book. When it was over,I purchased the book and have since read many of the vignettes that it contains. Each story is filled with tender details of how nature and animals have helped people come to grips with illness and sadness. The book shows us how the world around us can help us come to terms with various problems and conditions in life. I work in the field of Animal Assisted Therapy and have found this book an inspiration to what I do. Bring Me An Ocean validates what I see everyday with my dog when we visit hospitals. The gentle touch of an animal or the opportunity for a patient to smell a flower or touch a seashell sometimes provides more healing that all the medicine in the world. For anyone who loves nature and wants to nuture the souls of loved ones who may be ill, or not, this book is a must.

Rating:
Summary: Proof that "We can never have enough of nature"
Review: Rebecca Reynolds and her Animals As Intermediaries colleagues conduct outreach programs at hospitals and special schools, bringing all types of natural objects into institutional settings to share with patients and students. She begins her text with the Thoreau quote that "We need the tonic of wildness. ... We can never have enough of nature." The real-life vignettes that follow illustrate the healing / spiritual power that nature has had on individuals of varying ages with special mental or physical challenges. We see how connections are made between the human spirit and Nature -- in the form of dogs, rabbits, moss, seaweed, even buckets of ocean water. The sight, smell and touch of cattails, grasses, marsh ice, and rabbit fur can console and heal. They can stimulate communication where none previously existed and unearth personal histories that were previously buried and unknown to caretakers. Reynolds' storytelling style makes it easy to witness these encounters in person. Readers can feel the starkness of a typical hospital room made temporarily more livable by bringing Nature inside. Inspirational reading for environmental educators, pet therapists, animal lovers, and those feeling a bit disconnected or locked behind four walls themselves.