Book Review: Gardening Nude

Posted by Katie Elzer-Peters
July 20th, 2009
Filed in Organic Book Reviews
Tags: books, Gardening Nude, healthy living

Shawna Coronado grew up in Kokomo, Indiana, a small community in the heart of the breadbasket (farm country), of the United States.  Her family was anything but normal, her parents had an unconventional marriage, and her father passed away when she was just 13 years old.  Her grandparents’ farm became a place of solace.  She wandered around in nature, not really doing anything constructive, other than mowing the lawn, but she felt better outside than anywhere else.

To escape the turmoil of her upbringing, she moved to Chicago straight out of high school-at 17 years old.  She married, had a daughter, divorced, and worked her way up through the business world, eventually making a large salary, working unsustainable hours and battling severe allergies, chronic fatigue, endometriosis, high blood pressure, and a myriad of other ailments.  Gardening saved her.

While that might sound like an overstatement, according to Coronado, it’s not.  After years of learning how to heal herself, she wrote and published her book, Gardening Nude, which is both a personal account of the healing benefits of the outdoors, and a collection of case studies of similar experiences.

About Life, not just Gardening

Gardening Nude is not just a book about gardening, though gardening plays a large part.  As with many other local food production/gardening volumes, community building and environmental awareness are key components of Shawna’s Get Your Green on Healthy Philosophy.  After years of battling stress, fatigue and other health problems caused by “conventional” life (long hours at work, little time outside, meals grabbed on the go), Coronado “got naked” (in her own words), and discovered how to put the pieces of her life back together by, literally, going back to nature.  Her philosophy has three key principles:

• Go Green Health Plan
  • Exercise regularly
  • Eat whole, nutritious foods
    • Limit processed sugars (white sugar, white flower, white rice), caffeine, alcohol, and non-natural fats
• Green and Simple Conservation Plan
  • Recycle
  • Purchase recycled products
  • Conserve water
  • Compost
  • Buy local-food, clothing, anything possible
  • Participate in community conservation
• Building a Green Community Plan
  • Plant a community garden
  • Participate in local beautification efforts
  • Advocate for outdoor spaces and natural areas within the community

The book is divided into four parts, with the three major parts detailing each principle with an explanation of the principle, a well-researched set of arguments for letting go of excuses and making the principle a reality in your own life, and “Naked Action,” or real-life case studies and examples of the principle in action.

We Don’t Get Enough Green

Coronado recognized, and has articulated in her book, something everyone feels, even if they are not consciously aware of it:  people need to be outdoors – taking in the sunshine.  They need to fuel their bodies with nutritious, healthy food.  Food packed with vitamins, minerals and phyto-chemicals, not just calories.  People crave interaction with others, and build support systems to care for each other.

She has recognized that industrial agriculture, modern food distribution, and the “rat race” economy have conspired to keep people inside, in cars, and away from the health benefits of the outdoors.  Her “Get Your Green on Healthy Philosophy” is not composed of radical activities outside the realm of normal human activity.  It is, rather an organized way to experience nature and community, while helping the environment, for the benefit of personal and collective healthy.  Gardening Nude is a handbook with ideas, and a blueprint for how to live, not just eat.

More than a Book

Shawna isn’t just an author-she is a gardening/life/community guru.  Her website, The Casual Gardener, is a delightful place to visit!  Mosey over and take a look.  You’ll be glad you did!