Welcome to a new episode of Health Raisers! Today my guest is Amy Stewart, the delightfully curious New York Times bestselling author behind fascinating books like The Tree Collectors, The Drunken Botanist and Wicked Plants, which explore the unexpected stories of the natural world and have captivated over a million readers across 18 languages. She's also brought to life the wonderfully spirited Kopp Sisters historical fiction series, inspired by the remarkable true story of one of America's first female deputy sheriffs and her two feisty sisters. When she's not writing, Amy can be found in Portland with her husband Scott Brown, who runs the charming rare book shop Downtown Brown Books—and yes, she's the same Amy Stewart who somehow ended up on TLC's Cake Boss alongside appearances on NPR and CBS Sunday Morning.

In this episode, we dive into her book, The Tree Collectors: Tales of Arboreal Obsession to discuss how simple acts help us to revere our natural world.

What we learn:

🌳 How Amy discovered that collecting trees was inexorably linked to the collectors' life stories and histories.

🌿 How every tree planted is a commitment to our future.

🎨 How simple practices like leaf collecting and mending can become profound acts of reverence for nature and mindfulness.

🌲 How the Miyawaki method lets anyone create a tiny forest in spaces no bigger than a backyard to care for our world.

💚 How tree collectors build community by connecting people through shared experiences with trees.

🌿 How spending time away from screens and connecting with nature is essential for mental health and well-being.

⭐️ And much more...

More about Amy:

Amy’s 2009 book Wicked Plants was adapted into a national traveling exhibit that terrified children at science museums nationwide for over a decade. Even better, a few bars around the world are named after The Drunken Botanist.

It’s an honor just to be nominated, but it’s even better to win, and she’s won a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, the American Horticulture Society’s Book Award, the National Outdoor Book Award, and an International Association of Culinary Professionals Food Writing Award.

Amy travels the country as a highly sought-after public speaker whose spirited lectures have inspired and entertained audiences at college campuses such as Cornell and Harvard, corporate offices like Google (where she served tequila and nearly broke the Internet), conferences and book festivals, botanical gardens, bookstores, and libraries nationwide. Find out where she’s heading next.

🎙️ Original Podcast Music by Nadine Kelly (drums and vocals) and Tim Buell; Produced by Tim Buell

❤️ Sponsored by Infusco Coffee Roasters, Mak Salon and Spa, and Fernwood Botanical Garden.

Hello, Wise Women! Today my guest is Dr. Deborah Zucker. Dr. Deborah Zucker is a naturopathic physician, author, and founder of Vital Medicine. After her own journey from chronic fatigue and depression to deep healing, she now helps women create multidimensional well-being by honoring and accepting our unique and true selves. She is the author of The Vitality Map and The Vitality Journal; learn more about her work at vitalmedicine.com.

What We Learn

- 🌱 Vitality is our birthright and life energy.

- 🧭 Honoring individuality in health and embracing experiments, not perfection.

- 💪 Practing peaceful discipline for sustainable self-care.

- 😔 Addressing shame and embracing our shadows as part of self-acceptance.

- 🤝 Reframing self-care as a service to others AND ourselves.

- 🌟 Connecting hope and vitality for a fuller, more trusting life.

🎙️ Original Podcast Music by Nadine Kelly (drums and vocals) and Tim Buell; Produced by Tim Buell

❤️ Sponsored by Infusco Coffee Roasters, Mak Salon and Spa, and Fernwood Botanical Garden.

Welcome to another episode of Health Raisers, Wise Women! My guest is Danielle Grandholme, the founder and director of Rising Kites, a nonprofit organization that celebrates the gift of Down syndrome. Inspired by her daughter Sammie, Danielle and her husband, Matt, started Rising Kites to bring resources, encouragement, and community to families in the Down syndrome community.

What began as a personal mission has grown into a vibrant movement. Today, Rising Kites also offers meaningful employment opportunities to individuals with disabilities through Rising Kites Coffee and Rising Kites Flowers — creating inclusive spaces that uplift and empower. In her free time, Danielle enjoys gardening and spending time at the beach with her family.

🐙 From Isolation to Community: Turning challenges to opportunities to build community.

🐙 Small Gestures Make Big Impacts: Danielle's resource bags have helped thousands of families nationwide.

🐙 Inclusive Spaces Change Everything: Creating environments where people with disabilities can truly be themselves - without judgment or barriers - benefits not just those individuals but entire communities.

🐙 Unfiltered Authenticity is a Gift: Learning from individuals with disabilities who live unapologetically as themselves, asking for what they need, and expressing joy without inhibition.

🐙 Therapy Through Beauty: Flower gardening became healing therapy, with each unique bloom serving as a metaphor for how every person is beautiful just the way they are.

🎙️ Original Podcast Music by Nadine Kelly (drums and vocals) and Tim Buell; Produced by Tim Buell

❤️ Sponsored by Infusco Coffee Roasters, Mak Salon and Spa, and Fernwood Botanical Garden.