SOMETHING IN THE WOODS LOVES YOU

In this memoir, Anderson discusses finding solace in the beauty of nature while in the depths of depression.

When Anderson realized that doing what he was “supposed to do”—advancing his education and “climbing the ladder”—was making him miserable, he quit his job in academia to focus on his mental health. Deep in the throes of suicidal despair, Anderson turned to the woods and wilderness of Ohio. As a child, Anderson found comfort in nature, climbing trees or watching his mother ask “pregnant does if they were getting enough to eat.” Anderson divides the chapters of his book along the four seasons, beginning with winter and concluding with autumn. Each chapter is themed around a living organism, such as the white-tailed deer, the morel, and the shagbark hickory. The author connects each organism to stories and people from his life, giving context to his account of his experience with depression. One of the best examples of this approach is in the morels chapter, where Anderson beautifully describes his family’s tradition of morel hunting in the springtime: “The trick of it is that even looking and failing to find anything meant a handful of hours carefully noticing the details of a spring woodland.” Along with the personal narrative, the author includes facts about the chapters’ natural subjects as he connects them to his journey toward mental health. In the morel chapter, he relates looking for the mushrooms to finding the right therapist; rather than despairing at the difficulty of the search, he learned something from the experience: “Every time the belittling voice in my head would whisper, back to square one, I could shake it off and reply, no, not exactly. No mushrooms. But something.” Anderson frequently reflects on toxic masculinity and how it affected his depression (most directly in the field mouse chapter), allowing him to connect stories from his childhood that resonated into his adulthood. Part self-help, part nature narrative, the memoir is a beautiful affirmation of life that asks a hopeful question: “What if it all works out in the end?”

A brilliantly poignant exploration of nature, masculinity, and the struggles of depression.