
AudioBook information:
Author: Richard Louv
Narrated by: Alan Peterson
Release date: June 23, 2026
Audiobook Duration: 8 h 19 min
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Summary: The internationally bestselling author of Last Child in the Woods seeks a deeper personal connection to nature during this time of ecoanxiety and upheaval by exploring his own backyard.
Long beloved for his insightful, inspiring nature writing, Richard Louv returns with his most personal book yet. Noticing is about discovering who you are by exploring the natural world. Louv shows how, by tapping into the thirty or more human senses we have, readers can develop skillsââsensory, scientific, artistic, and spiritualââto see and experience the otherworlds of nature.
Through personal essays, rich with descriptions of the California wilderness around his home in the most biodiverse county in the nation, Louv draws on wisdom from influences as far-reaching as neuroscience, nature photography, Indigenous traditions, and mindfulness to foster what he calls “bioenchantment.â He offers a new, deeper understanding of what it means to see a tree, know a fox, and to become fully human.
Reviews:
âRichard Louv would like you to live a beautiful life. He wants you to see how easy, how free and freeing this can be. This book is a how-to manual for getting back your soul.â
âCarl Safina, author of Alfie and Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe
âRichard Louvâs Noticing isnât nature writing as usual, itâs an invitation to meet the more-than-human world through all the senses. Drawing on research, mindfulness practices, Indigenous wisdom, and intimate encounters in the biodiverse California wilderness, Louv shows us that thereâs far more to the outdoors than what meets the eye. The result is a beautiful ode to wonderâand a reminder that our capacity for enchantment is a skill we can relearn.â
âLinda Ă
keson McGurk, author of The Open-Air Life and Thereâs No Such Thing as Bad Weather
“Richard Louv has created a âmulti-beingâ in the form of a book illustrating, all the senses needed to fully attend to this wonderful, divergent world. No single species can do this, but Noticing, filled with Richardâs observations and the sensory insights of many others, human and nonhuman, is as close as you are ever going to get.”
âGlenn Albrecht, author of Earth Emotions
âRichard Louv is one of todayâs most discerning observers of the natural world and our place in it, and Noticing is his most personal and intimate book yet. It is full of grace and full of wonder. A beautiful guide to being present, reconnecting, caring, healing, and thriving.â
âHoward Frumkin, Former Director of CDC National Center for Environmental Health
âBlending rich storytelling with research and ancestral ways of knowing, Louv shows how deep noticing can reawaken our senses and renew our bond with nature. This inspiring book reminds us that when we slow down and observe with care, the world becomes more aliveâand so do we.â
âSally Jewell, Former U.S. Secretary of the Interior
âWhat a gift! And so needed. Rich Louvâs Noticing is simultaneously informative and inspiring, uplifting and grounded. Reading his words, I found myself laughing out loud at times. Moments later, I was on the verge of tears. With humor and heart, scholarship and practicality, Rich provides a path forward for healing human relationships with the rest of nature.â
âCheryl Charles, Ph.D., International Co-Chair of IUCNâs NatureForAll and Co-Founder of Children & Nature Network
â[Louv] moves back and forth from lyrical descriptions of connection to nature to impassioned concern about the future of the planet to a certain mild skepticism toward those who believe they are empowered to speak for natureâŚHis thoughtful, encouraging approach makes it easy for readers to follow in his footsteps. A gentle guide to connecting with the non-human world.ââKirkus Reviews
âRichard Louvâs book is like a gentle prescription for our timesâan invitation not just to go outside, but to truly step into nature with intention and attention. Through reflective storytelling and practical guidance, he encourages readers to engage all their senses, notice more deeply, and cultivate a richer connection with the natural world, themselves, and one another. In doing so, he offers a simple yet profound path to nurturing ourselves and hope for the future.ââPooja Tandon M.D., MPH, Professor of General Pediatrics, Seattle Children’s Hospital
âNature writer extraordinaireâŚLouv does not restate the obvious about natureâs wonders; instead, he asserts how significant contact with nature can be as we embrace computer screens, AI, and ever-increasing reality distortionâŚNot self-help and yet enormously helpful, NoticingâŚencourages readers to reflect on nature beyond what can be seen with the naked eyeâŚThoughtful, timely, and achingly beautiful, this is a book to savor.”
âColleen Mondor, Booklist
About the Author:
Richard Louv is a journalist and the author of ten books, including Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, The Nature Principle, and Vitamin N. Translated into twenty languages, his books have helped launch an international movement to connect children, families, and communities to nature. He is cofounder and chair emeritus of the nonprofit Children & Nature Network, which supports a new nature movement. Louv has written for the New York Times, Outside magazine, Orion Magazine, Parents, and many other publications. He appears regularly on national radio and TV, and lectures throughout the world. In 2008, he was awarded the Audubon Medal. Prior recipients have included Rachel Carson, E. O. Wilson, President Jimmy Carter, and Sir David Attenborough.

