Solace

Solace is that feeling of calm and comfort, that sense of peace that is all around us when we are open to finding it.

Writer and photographer Catherine Drea explores the solace to be found in nature and creativity. She reflects on loss, the cycle of life and the healing power of family and community. She muses on the joy of finding a place to call home, the escape that travel brings and the exhilaration of plunging into our waters – all the while embracing the therapeutic power of observing the ordinary and the everyday.

With the passing seasons, her camera captures fleeting moments in nature – the light and lie of the land with its precious wildlife: among them sentinel robins, elusive Irish hares and serene swans.

Solace is quite simply a balm for the soul.

‘In this beautiful book Catherine Drea explores deeply emotive issues, calms the mind, soothes the soul, and focuses her sensitive lens on the wonders of the natural world.’

Alice Taylor, author of To School through the Fields

Table of Contents

A word from the author 8

Spring – The lie of the land 10

1 Setting out 13

2 This landscape 23

3 When spring comes 35

4 Nesting 43

Summer – The inner landscape 52

5 The rose-petal path 55

6 An encounter with the wild 71

7 Wild summer 81

8 Lost and found 93

Autumn – Twists and turns along the path 106

9 Seeking light 109

10 Wandering further afield 131

11 Soulfire 143

12 Ripening 155

Winter – Breathing space 164

13 Hibernation 167

14 Healing 181

15 Map-making 199

16 Beginning again and again 213

The poets 224