Our Favorite Books on Sustainable Living

Julia and Anastasia Vanderbyl - Mother the Mountain: The Art of Living with Nature

As young women, sisters Anastasia and Julia Vanderbyl began a compelling journey of restoration deep in the Australian rainforest. A beautifully crafted narrative woven with personal stories, Mother the Mountain is both a memoir of their experiences and a meditation on the extraordinary resilience of nature.

In this rich collection of reflections, art, photography, and poetry, you will find yourself enchanted with the wonders of the natural world. Drawing on their life as regenerative farmers, artists, gardeners, and caretakers of both animals and the land, the sisters share secrets of how to deepen your connection with the earth, celebrate creativity, and return to a mindful way of life. A powerful tribute to hope and healing, this book invites you to discover the art of living with nature.

Willow Defebaugh - THE OVERVIEW: Meditations on Nature for a World in Transition

An anthology of meditative essays from Atmos Editor-in-Chief Willow Defebaugh alongside immersive photography of ecosystems around the world, The Overview: Meditations on Nature for a World in Transition is a pathway for reconnecting with nature through reverence, balance, evolution, and healing.  Metamorphosis begins within. In order to mend our relationship with this planet, we need more than sustainability: we need a change of spirit. From the reciprocity of trees to the long view of volcanoes to the patience of spiders, The Overview illuminates the wisdom of the Earth and its many teachers. An anthology of meditative essays from Atmos Editor-in-Chief Willow Defebaugh alongside immersive photography of ecosystems around the world, it’s a pathway for reconnecting with nature through reverence, balance, evolution, and healing.

Anna Jones - Easy Wins

The award-winning and bestselling cook Anna Jones has picked a few of her favourite things: 12 hero ingredients, from lemons to olive oil, miso to mustard and tahini to tomatoes, to dial up the flavour in the kitchen. Anna has been our go to chef for meat free inspiration, and we would encourage you to also listen to our podcast with her HERE.

Leah Thomas - The Intersectional Environmentalist

The Intersectional Environmentalist examines the inextricable link between environmentalism, racism, and privilege, and promotes awareness of the fundamental truth that we cannot save the planet without uplifting the voices of its people — especially those most often unheard. Written by Leah Thomas, a prominent voice in the field and the activist who coined the term “Intersectional Environmentalism,” this book is simultaneously a call to action, a guide to instigating change for all, and a pledge to work towards the empowerment of all people and the betterment of the planet. 

Thomas shows how not only are Black, Indigenous and people of color unequally and unfairly impacted by environmental injustices, but she argues that the fight for the planet lies in tandem to the fight for civil rights; and in fact, that one cannot exist without the other. An essential read, this book addresses the most pressing issues that the people and our planet face, examines and dismantles privilege, and looks to the future as the voice of a movement that will define a generation.

Simone Davies and Junnifa Uzodike - The Montessori Child

The book will guide parents and caregivers in using the principles of Montessori to raise their school-aged children in ways that assist their development and foster a respectful relationship between parent and child and world. When children are given independence, the tools to succeed, and the encouragement to build on their abilities, it’s amazing what they can achieve. 

We will give you guidance on how to encourage your child’s innate curiosity and independence while creating a family life with more connection, collaboration and joy.

Alyson Morgan - Our Kindred Home

Through the lens of Alyson’s academic journey combined with the joy and wisdom she has absorbed from the soil of the Earth, this book was born as a seed of hope and a portal for connection. Our Kindred Home is a source for rekindling our fundamental interconnectedness to the Earth, and discovering everyday ways to stoke resilience, resistance, liberation, and collective healing.

This book is full of seasonal recipes that complement the rhythms of nature, heartfelt monographs describing plant allies Alyson most often turns to all year round, an exploration of ecological grief and its impacts, gateways for working with subtle body energy including flower essence therapy, tools for observing, identifying, foraging, and cultivating plants and creative methods for crafting infusions, honeys, vinegars, and oils.

Julius Roberts - The Farm Table

Julius Roberts is a first-generation farmer and restaurant-trained chef with a story that started in the kitchen of award-winning London restaurant Noble Rot. Inspired by the seasonal ethos and stunning produce of the suppliers who delivered to the restaurant each morning, he left the city on a mission to reconnect with nature and live a self-sufficient life in the countryside. There began a wonderful journey of learning, animal husbandry, and foraging and growing his own food on a small farm in Dorset. Starring in A Taste of the Country on Channel 5 in the UK and now with his first book The Farm Table, Julius shares recipes and stories inspired by his life on the farm.