& An emotional & compelling memoir that left me inspired both by her bravery in transforming her life & by the unexpected beauty she finds along the way& Countryfile Magazine& Fowler beautifully exposes her emotional fragility while also celebrating the unloved nature of buddleia herons & even the water rats who take refuge among the locks& i paper& Fowler captures the beauty of the canal&s dishevelled neglected condition& Times Literary Supplement& Thoughtful & heartbreakingly honest Beautiful& Press Association& An astounding memoir& Gay Star News& Hidden Nature is one of the most thrilling things I&ve read in a long time& Waterways World& She writes wonderfully about the species that have carved out a place for themselves amid the discarded shopping trolleys condom packets & industrial waste& Guardian& This candid book is as much about mapping the heart as it is about mapping the paths of waterways Lovely& Simple Things&A beautiful memoir& Good Housekeeping& Gentle brave & acutely observant& Woman&s Weekly Leaving her garden to the mercy of the slugs the Guardian&s award-winning writer Alys Fowler set out in an inflatable kayak to explore Birmingham&s canal network full of little-used waterways where huge pike skulk & kingfishers dart Her book is about noticing the wild everywhere & what it means to see beauty where you least expect it What happens when someone who has learned to observe her external world in such detail decides to examine her internal world with the same care? Beautifully written honest & very moving Hidden Nature is also the story of Alys Fowler&s emotional journey & her coming out as a gay woman above all this book is about losing & finding exploring familiar places & discovering unknown horizons