‘Raw, intense and absorbing.’ Matt Haig ‘As tender and funny as it is painful.’ TLS ‘I didn’t give my hands much thought before they turned against me. … They have been chipping away at my life, slowly, slowly, in a way I could never have predicted.’ Lauren Brown is anxious. And when she feels worried, she picks at her skin. Secretly, quietly, but increasingly compulsively, her skin-picking begins to affect her day-to-day life until she realizes she must unravel the reasons behind it. This sparkling memoir follows the thread of Lauren’s anxiety – tangled and frayed – back to its source. Written with rare wit and insight, it is an attempt to redirect the anxiety that’s pooled in her fingertips for as long as she can remember, released in odd bursts in caravan parks, on European holidays, at GP surgeries and on the wind-stung north-east coast. It is a moving and joyful exploration of obsession, forgiveness, stigma and healing, and a true love-song to the north. Thoughtful, unsparing and at times darkly comic, Hands is the masterful debut of a luminous new talent.

A herbalist for the Alchemist's Kitchen in New York City offers a captivating introduction to CBD oil--what it is, how it can improve your health, and how to use it for personal wellness. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-intoxicating, non-psychoactive, anti-inflammatory compound of the cannabis plant with enormous therapeutic potential. It can relieve stress and anxiety, as well as a wide range of conditions including muscular discomfort and chronic pain. Zachary Clancy, a CBD activist and ambassador at New York City's Alchemist's Kitchen, shares his knowledge of this healing oil and provides recipes to try in daily practice. He covers the exciting science behind CBD, explores all the properties of the cannabis plant, and offers hints on how to use it most effectively. Beautifully illustrated throughout, this authoritative guide suggests ideas for self-care and daily pleasure that will enhance mind, body, and spirit.

This elegant and easy-to-use guide is an updated and amended revision of Lauren Brown's seminal Grasses: An Identification Guide, which was first published in 1979. While maintaining the spirit and goals of the original edition-a portable, straightforward, and user-friendly guide for naturalists and plant enthusiasts-the new edition features more than one hundred grasses, sedges, and rushes that are presented with line drawings and color photographs, concise descriptions, and details on the uses of various plants throughout history. In addition, the authors are careful to highlight the subtle differences in similar species to avoid confusion, as well as offering relevant notes on plant survival strategies, invasiveness, and how different plants fit within the broader ecological landscape. Devoid of technical jargon, this volume is an indispensable tool for those curious about the often-overlooked grasses, sedges, and rushes that surround us.

How to identify 135 of the most common species of North American grasses, sedges, and rushes, with their economic and ecological importance.

"This book will be a joy to those wood-walkers and strollers who have been puzzled by the skeletal remains of herbaceous plants that they see in winter."—Roger Tory Peterson, editor of Peterson Field Guide Series

This charming guide identifies over 135 of the common species of wildflowers and weeds found in the northeastern United States. Each plant is superbly illustrated with a full-page drawing accompanied by an elegant description of the plant's key characteristics. In addition, a step-by-step key to plant identifications and an illustrated glossary of common plant parts and botanical terms has been included to make this a splendid and valuable resource in identifying the dormant but various vestiges of spring and summer.

"A book as modest as the quiet winter countryside from New York to Boston . . . [by a] gifted young author and artist." —Philip Morrison, Scientific American