Dr. Lindsay Branham, an environmental psychologist and Aspen resident, has released a book exploring healing connections with nature. Titled 'Heartwood: The Wisdom and Healing Kinship of Trees,' it draws from her personal experiences recovering from an autoimmune condition in Aspen's forests. The work emphasizes interoceptive awareness and reciprocity with trees to foster environmental protection.
Dr. Lindsay Branham, an environmental psychologist, scholar, author, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, and Aspen Times columnist, shifted her focus after an autoimmune diagnosis interrupted her PhD research at the University of Cambridge. Visiting her parents in the Aspen area, she experienced health improvements amid the local forests, prompting her to investigate nature's healing potential.
"Little by little things started changing for me and my body started feeling a lot better," Branham said. "As a scientist, I had to ask, what is happening here? I really felt like something else was going on."
Her resulting book, 'Heartwood: The Wisdom and Healing Kinship of Trees,' shares this journey and invites readers to engage deeply with nature. "The book is really my attempt to share my healing journey and invite people into the power of nature," she explained.
The text highlights interoceptive awareness, described as the body's 'eighth sense' linking humans to the earth. "It's the language of the senses and the language of the earth," Branham said. "It's our birthright. We all speak this language."
Rooted in Aspen's landscape, the book discusses local aspens as a single interconnected organism that embodies community. Branham has visited a family of five aspen trees in the Maroon Creek Wilderness Area for five years, advocating for building similar bonds. She suggests allowing trees to draw one's attention to initiate these relationships.
Reviews praise the work: Jedidiah Jenkins called it "a vibrant, vision changing way to survive what's coming. And it requires a rethinking of everything." David George Haskell described it as "wonderfully perceptive and generative."
Branham links secure attachments to trees with relational health, noting they can provide unique emotional support. "We protect what we love and we care for what we feel connected to," she said, emphasizing reciprocity over fear in conservation efforts. Her research indicates that closeness to nature predicts pro-environmental behavior amid climate challenges.
'Heartwood' becomes available on March 10, 2026. A launch event is scheduled for March 17 at Explore Books in Aspen, featuring Branham with City Council Member John Doyle and artist Laura Betti. An additional conversation with Aspen Center for Environmental Studies Executive Director Jody Cardamone is set for April 15.