Beyond the Front Door: Embracing Nature for a Happier and Healthier Family

“Beyond the Front Door is your cue to ditch the guilt, grab the kids, and head outside – no fancy gear or flawless plans required. Blending heartfelt storytelling, research, and Indigenous wisdom, Josée Bergeron offers creative ways to reconnect with nature and each other in every season, rain or shine. Refreshingly honest and judgment-free, it’s the parenting guide you’ve been waiting for.”

― Linda Åkeson McGurk, author of There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather and The Open-Air Life

"Beyond the Front Door stopped me in my tracks, made me think, cry, reconsider my choices, and take action to give my family more of the wild life they deserve. The book is honest, insightful, useful, readable, and relatable. This book is like a joyful, playful, practical friend, opening the door, taking us by the hand, and leading us back into the world."

― John Muir Laws, Nature Stewardship through Science, Education, and Art, author of The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling

"Children develop a love of nature not by looking at it, nor by walking through it, and certainly not by being lectured about it. They develop a love of nature by playing in it and with it. Josée Bergeron has provided us with a wonderful guide for enabling, encouraging, and enriching such play."

― Peter Gray, Research Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and author of Free to Learn

“This book is part rally cry, part plea, and all a big warm hug. It doesn't matter if you're a huge outdoor enthusiast or a person who thinks nature just isn't your scene, there's something for you in this book. Josée crafts her personal parenting struggles with science and data to pull us all towards nature and being outside more. She calls nature her co-parent and I think every parent needs to hear and embrace this. If you struggle with getting outside, she outlines baby steps to do as well as crafts and recipes to lure your children back to the land. This book is both a treasure and a must-read.”

― Jamie Glowacki, author of Oh Crap! Potting Training

"Beyond [offering] a primer on getting outdoors, Josée has tapped into her deep bond with Mother Nature and given us a verdant path through the forest of modern parenting.”

― Nicolette Sowder, author of Wilder Child

“Forging a meaningful connection with nature is essential for the health of both kids and adults, as well as for the places we live. Yet today, most of us live indoor, screen-filled lives. We know it’s not good for us, but we struggle to change things up. To the rescue comes Josée Bergeron’s wonderful, narrative-rich book, Beyond the Front Door. Bergeron provides a veritable feast of activities―organized by season, no less―to help you and your family connect with nearby nature, improve your physical and mental wellbeing, and have awe-inspiring fun along the way! What are you waiting for?”

― Scott D. Sampson, PhD, author of How to Raise a Wild Child, executive director, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, host and science advisor: PBS Kids Dinosaur Train

“With courage, humility, and subtle humour, Josée’s book helps parents make sense of the isolation and disconnect many feel raising children in a digital world. By helping us understand that nature is a way for families to ground themselves, she offers something we all need right now: hope. And by sharing practical, real-life ways to reconnect with nature, she makes that hope possible.”

― Richard Monette, lead creator and director, Active for Life

Josée Bergeron is the founder of Backwoods Mama and an outdoor-family educator who helps families get outside with confidence year-round. She has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of British Columbia and a Creative Writing Certificate from The Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University. She is Red River Métis and lives with her family in Kelowna, British Columbia.