Recommendations for The Cactus Surgeon

I’ve been extremely grateful for the wonderful reviews readers have shared with me, and here are just some of my favourites:

***** A lovely book with some important messages about living well, a cracking read. I enjoyed this book a lot and read it in a very short time as it really pulled me in. The author is very brave to have shared her story and revealed so much about herself in print. It felt a real privilege to be granted such an intimate view into another person’s life. I think she achieved her purpose of showing how the choices we make and how we live affect our wellbeing at a profound level. She shows by her example that following an authentic personal path and keeping a direct connection to nature can help us heal. I took some important messages for myself away from this book. I recommend it highly. Amazon review, 20 Oct 21

***** Brilliantly written and relatable
Hannah’s honest account of battling a little known condition, FND, is peppered with heartwarming moments of contemplating nature and its role in her recovery.
Hannah’s zest for life, coupled with her passion for nature, seeps through every page of the book. Her writing will encourage you to go outside and seek out little nature wonders in your daily life. Highly recommended! Amazon review, 18 Nov 21

***** Wonderful Read
This book was such a comforting read and resonated in so many ways with my current circumstances. Hannah’s early lifestyle echoed mine and my husband’s time spent in London working in media and ‘burning the candle at both ends’. To read her own story on dealing with FND and her quest to fix her faulty brain was so refreshingly honest and such an inspiration. My husband has been poorly with FND for nearly a year and reading Hannah’s story has given us such hope. This book is a must read for anybody looking for light at the end of the tunnel in today’s hectic world. Amazon review, 23 Nov 21.

***** Hannah’s book has encouraged me to slow down and be more observant of the beauty of nature
Hannah’s passion for nature is conveyed very strongly through her book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her life, and how she has allowed nature to influence her health. Her writing has encouraged me to slow down and be more observant of the beauty of nature. Amazon review, 18 October 21.

***** I picked up this book because I am personally going through the stages of being diagnosed with FND and have not been able to see many other perspectives of people who have this condition. Looking online, most of the posts I have read from people have been very negative and worst case scenarios and I hadn’t found many useful ways of tackling this condition. I hoped in this book I would find some comfort from someone who is successfully living with this condition and is able to live a normal, if not mildly adapted, life. I found that in Hannah’s writing. She was honest about her life leading up to first noticing symptoms and how it was hard to get a diagnosis. (I would have liked a little more information on getting the actually diagnosis and support offered but recognise this is a memoir rather than a medical advice book!) It was lovely to see some of Hannah’s life growing up at Perrywood, which is such a wonderful garden centre, and how plants and nature are part of her core and an integral part of her life. She has managed to harness that and use to help ‘fix her faulty brain’. The epilogue was important as it showed me that although Hannah is ‘well’ she is never fully recovered from FND but that hasn’t stopped her from living a fulfilling life and being able to do many of the things she loved. It gave me a little bit of hope which my faulty brain needs right now. Thank you Hannah. Good Reads review, 24 Nov 21.

***** A brilliant read. Totally captivates the reader into Hannah’s world and the adventures and obstacles she has overcome. Once I begun reading I didn’t want to put this book down! Would definitely recommend. Good Reads review, 03 Dec 21.

I’ve also received some encouraging and uplifting emails. This is just part of an email I received in October 2021. “The books arrived while we were away from home last week. We got home yesterday, I started reading it last night and couldn’t put it down, it was the last thing I read last night and the first this morning until I finished it. Such a beautifully written and readable book, and whilst my own life experiences are different there are so many parallels. We just returned from the New Forest where we had a few days of wonder at its jewels – and a break from daily life – and it was the perfect read. It is a book I will read again and again.”

You can read all the reviews for The Cactus Surgeon on Amazon and Good Reads.

You can read more about me and The Cactus Surgeon: Using Nature to Fix A Faulty Brain here.