Praise for
The Cancer Survivor’s Garden Companion
“As Jenny’s oncologist, I told her that it was a part of her treatment to get outside, keep moving and stay engaged with the world. Despite some challenges along the way, her outside garden activities have absolutely helped her to heal and find hope. The Cancer Survivor’s Garden Companion will be a valuable resource for people at any stage of cancer treatment and recovery.”
~ Dr. Carlos Rubin de Celis, Oncologist, Texas Oncology
“Jenny’s beautiful book reminds us all that life can be found in the healing, meditative act of gardening. By lovingly tending a garden, we can learn to nurture ourselves, restoring our mind, body and spirit in the process.”
~ Ray Anne Evans, Executive Director, Breast Cancer Resource Centers of Texas
“Jenny’s connection with gardening, garden design, and simply being in nature remained strong throughout her cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. In fact, it was part of what helped her through. And now she is helping others to learn from her powerful experience.
“In this book, Jenny’s personality lights up each page with her intelligence, honesty, hopefulness and wit. Gardeners struggling with cancer will feel as if a good friend is there beside them, encouraging them to keep doing what they love to do. Non-gardeners may want to start! Friends and family will also benefit, understanding their loved one’s experience in a new light and, perhaps, being inspired to connect with them in the garden.”
~ Naomi A. Sachs, Founding Director, Therapeutic Landscapes Network; co-author, Therapeutic Landscapes: An Evidence-Based Approach to Designing Healing Gardens and Restorative Outdoor Spaces
“Jenny’s tips for incorporating gardening into your life for mind, body, and spiritual health are ingenious! As a cancer coach, I will definitely be suggesting this book to my clients.”
~ Susan Gonzalez, BSN, CPCC, co-author of 100 Perks of Having Cancer Plus 100 Health Tips for Surviving It, and editor of The Savvy Sister blog
“The Cancer Survivor’s Garden Companion is an inspiring guide to the spiritual journey awaiting you in your own backyard. As a cancer survivor and garden designer, Jenny Peterson writes with authority, positive energy and an understanding heart. What she discovered in her personal journey will galvanize any cancer survivor who is open to possibilities to see the garden as a tool for healing and well-being. A beautiful, informative, and wise book.”
~ Fran Sorin, author of Digging Deep: Unearthing Your Creative Roots Through Gardening, 10th Anniversary Edition
“Jenny Peterson has eloquently and candidly put into words perhaps the most important and powerful reason for gardens – their therapeutic power to heal mind and body.”
~ Joe Lamp’l, Executive Producer and Host of “Growing a Greener World”
“Get this book! Whether you are a gardener, a cancer patient or survivor, or caretaking someone who is, you need to read this book. As a doctor and gardener myself, I can assure you her approach is spot on; not only will your garden soothe your spirit, it can literally heal your body. Seeing your garden as a reflection of your own physical, mental, spiritual and emotional bodies can provide a fabulous mirror for self-healing. I preach the benefits of being grounded to my patients; there’s no better way than gardening and this book will lead you there.”
~ Dr. Robin Mayfield, DC, A.C.N., featured in Five Steps to Selecting the Best Alternative Medicine
“Jenny Peterson is an inspiration to all who know her and the best friend you can have. Her message of overcoming the fear of a frightening disease by finding peace and purpose in the garden is one that will resonate with anyone whose life has been touched by cancer.”
~ Steve Bender, Senior Garden Writer, Southern Living magazine
“Jenny’s engaging, heartwarming and down-to-earth style of writing is like having a best friend by your side as you navigate through this ‘interruption’ in your daily life. Jenny’s advice is spot-on, and I only wish this book was available when I was diagnosed with cancer. As Jenny says, ‘You’re a gardener, and gardeners believe in possibilities.’ Truer words were never spoken!”
~ Rebecca Sweet, garden designer and author of Refresh Your Garden Design with Color, Texture and Form
“Jenny Peterson reminds us that we are more than a job or a diagnosis. We are spiritual beings held together by a larger creative force – and we can see evidence of this in the gardens we plan and tend. A great manual for life living.”
~ Andie Redwine, filmmaker, “Paradise Recovered”
“As a psychologist/horticultural therapist, I have great faith in the healing power of gardening, which played a critical role in my personal recovery from stage 3 cancer. In The Cancer Survivor’s Garden Companion, Jenny Peterson guides you to view your garden as an invaluable resource in your healing journey. This book shows that gardening is more than an act of faith for cancer survivors, it is also an act of self-love and of healing.”
~ Florence Strang, M.Ed., co-author of 100 Perks of Having Cancer Plus 100 Health Tips for Surviving It
“Jenny Peterson chose the perfect title for this book: The Cancer Survivor’s Garden Companion: Cultivating Hope, Healing and Joy in the Ground Beneath Your Feet. Jenny sees the garden as a field where health, hope and joy can spring from – but more importantly, where nature offers a healing companionship. How so?
“Facing a cancer diagnosis, Jenny has the perfect excuse to abandon her garden and focus on tending to her own needs. Instead, she turns to the garden as a physical and emotional outlet. And she reaps spiritual comfort from her gardening tasks. Jenny’s beautiful book offers practical suggestions for nurturing a win/win relationship with nature during challenging times. This isn’t a ‘pie in the sky’ philosophy, it’s a down to earth approach for standing tall while digging in!”
~ Shirley Bovshow, Eden-maker and landscape designer; garden design expert on the Hallmark Channel’s “Home and Family” show.
“The Cancer Survivor’s Garden Companion brilliantly illustrates the ways people and plants can be healers of themselves and others in a purposeful community-driven environment.”
~ LaManda Joy, Founder and Executive Director, Chicago’s Peterson Garden Project, board member of the American Community Gardening Association
“Jenny Peterson shows how gardening properly and safely can not only help you feel better, it can help your body strengthen and heal from cancer treatment and its after-effects. This is a great resource for every cancer survivor!”
~ Jacqueline Jensen, CLT, Doctor of Physical Therapy
“With spunk, humor and spiritual sensitivity, Jenny Peterson takes us down the scary road of cancer to find our true sense of self. Her journey to essential awareness transcends all struggles, regardless of origin.”
~ Linda Lehmusvirta, Producer, PBS’s “Central Texas Gardener”
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