Some Of Us Just Fall (how nature helps genetic illness)

Some Of Us Just Fall is a unique book by a gifted writer, on how people with genetic illness can use nature to feel better. It traces a remarkable journey through illness – from misdiagnosis to wild swimming in the Lake District.

Polly examines her genetic inheritance, and her place in the natural world. After not getting results from doctors or her own body, she finally found some relief in nature.

The Lake District is famous for its rain. The wettest inhabited valley in England lies only 10 miles over the fells from my home. This is weather pushed to the extremes of itself.

Polly Atkin is an award-winning writer and poet who lives in the Cumbrian town where Wordsworth lived (she wrote a biography on his sister’s later life and illness). She co-founded the Open Mountain Initiative, which seeks to centre voices on the margins for outdoor, mountain and nature writing.