If you’ve noticed that being outside improves your creativity, you’re right. We speak with Florence Williams about the science of awe, why cultivating openness is your muse’s best friend, and specific ways to nourish your creative practice by engaging with the natural world. We also talk about the writing of her new book, in which she studies how we recover from heartbreak. It’s an episode that appeals to heart, brain and the unselved soul, exploring “the science of the ineffable.”

Florence Williams is a science journalist, author, podcaster and speaker. Her book BREASTS: A Natural and Unnatural History won the LA Times Book Prize in 2013, in 2017 she came out with The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative , an Audible best seller, and her new book, Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey, now just out in paperback, is nominated for this year's PEN/Wilson Award for Literary Science Writing. She’s won two Gracie awards for podcasts based on her books, and she often writes for audio as well as print. She also leads workshops and retreats on topics ranging from narrative writing to the importance of finding awe and healing in nature.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe