The Garden
Written by Sean Michael Wilson
Illustrated by Fumi Obata
70 pages full colour hardback edition * £12.99 * Published 21st May 2020
THE GARDEN IS A BEAUTIFUL STORY OF HEALING AND GROWTH THROUGH MINDFULNESS AND GARDENING.
"Joanna is a high-powered finance consultant who’s been signed off work after having a nervous breakdown. Seeking more than just something to pass the time, she travels to Kyoto, Japan, to immerse herself in the arts of zen gardening and meditation.
Returning home – and to the challenges of daily life – Joanna finds peace and a new sense of calm through nurturing her own garden – and her soul."
Get the book:
From green fingered AMAZON
From Barnes and Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-garden-sean-michael-wilson/1135447331?ean=9781912634163
From the publisher, LIMINAL 11
Distributed in North America by Sterling Publishing
Illustrated by Fumi Obata
70 pages full colour hardback edition * £12.99 * Published 21st May 2020
THE GARDEN IS A BEAUTIFUL STORY OF HEALING AND GROWTH THROUGH MINDFULNESS AND GARDENING.
"Joanna is a high-powered finance consultant who’s been signed off work after having a nervous breakdown. Seeking more than just something to pass the time, she travels to Kyoto, Japan, to immerse herself in the arts of zen gardening and meditation.
Returning home – and to the challenges of daily life – Joanna finds peace and a new sense of calm through nurturing her own garden – and her soul."
Get the book:
From green fingered AMAZON
From Barnes and Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-garden-sean-michael-wilson/1135447331?ean=9781912634163
From the publisher, LIMINAL 11
Distributed in North America by Sterling Publishing
Gardening has a rather nerdy image, in a middle class, middle aged way associated with Alan Titchmarsh, etc. But, as various people have noted, gardening can also be seen a form of mindfulness or meditation, of good old fashioned connection with nature.
Gardens are inherently visual, of course, therefore this subject lends itself well to a graphic novel. I was inspired to do this by a non-comic book person saying to me 'are there any comic books on gardening?', and me being unable to think of any! That and because my own little garden and pond is a daily delight to me. Tending it has become one of my main pleasures in life and a source of calm and meaning.
The main aspects of this book being to visually show the beauty of the garden in different seasons...the grass, the flowers, the trees, the pond, the fish and the frogs in it…. and to the present the calm, mindful quality of how the main character, Joanna, relates with that, how it helps her deal with other pressures in her life as a once busy business person, who fell sick and had to take leave. In that time she began to focus on the garden and realise how useful it was in both recovery from illness but also developing a more calm, purposeful life.
And, on a related note, there is an article on "Practice Mindfulness This Year" on the site Gifted Health Care which may be of interest to people:
https://www.giftedhealthcare.com/blog/practice-mindfulness-this-school-year/
Gardens are inherently visual, of course, therefore this subject lends itself well to a graphic novel. I was inspired to do this by a non-comic book person saying to me 'are there any comic books on gardening?', and me being unable to think of any! That and because my own little garden and pond is a daily delight to me. Tending it has become one of my main pleasures in life and a source of calm and meaning.
The main aspects of this book being to visually show the beauty of the garden in different seasons...the grass, the flowers, the trees, the pond, the fish and the frogs in it…. and to the present the calm, mindful quality of how the main character, Joanna, relates with that, how it helps her deal with other pressures in her life as a once busy business person, who fell sick and had to take leave. In that time she began to focus on the garden and realise how useful it was in both recovery from illness but also developing a more calm, purposeful life.
And, on a related note, there is an article on "Practice Mindfulness This Year" on the site Gifted Health Care which may be of interest to people:
https://www.giftedhealthcare.com/blog/practice-mindfulness-this-school-year/
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Reviews
Very good reviews of the book, saying just the kind of things we hoped to hear:
“The Garden teaches us the restorative power of nurturing and creating something that was not there before, and the grounding effect this can have on a person’s wellbeing. This story is especially resonant in current times, with uncertainty appearing in all aspects of life. If you have a garden it will inspire you to nurture and reconnect to this space, and if you do not, it is an enjoyable, blissful escape for a little while.”
- Broken frontier.com
"Filled with delightful human moments and a broad cast of appetising characters, Joanna’s learning curve is a marvellously tempting invitation to combine our personal urban nightmare with a more bucolic experience that appeals to the suppressed nature lover in us all, and the life-changing challenge even comes with an appealing Poem of the Garden to start your own verdant rebirth… Calm, contemplative and mentally refreshing, The Garden is a seed of surprise just waiting for you to plant it…"
- Comics Worth Reading
"I really love this book. It's the perfect tale to come out in these lock-down times when so many people are stressed and enjoying the solace of their personal outside space. "
- OK Comics, Leeds.
“One thing the lockdown has taught me (and probably a great many other people) is that the rat race consumes such a vast amount of our time, and it's easy to get mentally lost in the pressure of work sometimes - to the detriment of the very thing that makes you 'you'. Sean and Fumio capture this perfectly in this book… It's a gorgeous peaceful graphic novel, like most of Liminal 11's publications, one that reaches into a place in all of us that we may have thought we've lost. Very much needed in these strange times we find ourselves in.”
- Read it Daddy
"A book of genuine kindness to self and others. Well written and cleverly illustrated. For an old curmudgeon like myself, The Garden was a lovely break from my go-to books of dark cynicism and gritty "reality". Mindfulness is writ large herein but not in a preachy manner. Though it does act as a wee reminder to smile more which I shall (ok, should) take to heart." - Amazon review, D. Stewart.
“A worthy message of mindfulness and the benefits of taking time to stop and appreciate what’s around you rather than always pushing forwards.”
https://bigcomicpage.com/2020/05/18/review-the-garden-liminal-11/
“Wilson’s words and Obata’s illustrations compliment each other wonderfully and create such a beautiful read.”
https://northernplunder.com/graphic-novel-review-the-garden-by-sean-wilson/
“...a beautiful read that offers a moment of calm”
https://acatabookandacupoftea.wordpress.com/2020/05/06/review-the-garden/
"...a passive look at self-awareness that is rare in this medium, presented beautifully in hard-back making it a lovely gift for the right person."
https://www.uk-anime.net/manga/The_Garden.html
Very good reviews of the book, saying just the kind of things we hoped to hear:
“The Garden teaches us the restorative power of nurturing and creating something that was not there before, and the grounding effect this can have on a person’s wellbeing. This story is especially resonant in current times, with uncertainty appearing in all aspects of life. If you have a garden it will inspire you to nurture and reconnect to this space, and if you do not, it is an enjoyable, blissful escape for a little while.”
- Broken frontier.com
"Filled with delightful human moments and a broad cast of appetising characters, Joanna’s learning curve is a marvellously tempting invitation to combine our personal urban nightmare with a more bucolic experience that appeals to the suppressed nature lover in us all, and the life-changing challenge even comes with an appealing Poem of the Garden to start your own verdant rebirth… Calm, contemplative and mentally refreshing, The Garden is a seed of surprise just waiting for you to plant it…"
- Comics Worth Reading
"I really love this book. It's the perfect tale to come out in these lock-down times when so many people are stressed and enjoying the solace of their personal outside space. "
- OK Comics, Leeds.
“One thing the lockdown has taught me (and probably a great many other people) is that the rat race consumes such a vast amount of our time, and it's easy to get mentally lost in the pressure of work sometimes - to the detriment of the very thing that makes you 'you'. Sean and Fumio capture this perfectly in this book… It's a gorgeous peaceful graphic novel, like most of Liminal 11's publications, one that reaches into a place in all of us that we may have thought we've lost. Very much needed in these strange times we find ourselves in.”
- Read it Daddy
"A book of genuine kindness to self and others. Well written and cleverly illustrated. For an old curmudgeon like myself, The Garden was a lovely break from my go-to books of dark cynicism and gritty "reality". Mindfulness is writ large herein but not in a preachy manner. Though it does act as a wee reminder to smile more which I shall (ok, should) take to heart." - Amazon review, D. Stewart.
“A worthy message of mindfulness and the benefits of taking time to stop and appreciate what’s around you rather than always pushing forwards.”
https://bigcomicpage.com/2020/05/18/review-the-garden-liminal-11/
“Wilson’s words and Obata’s illustrations compliment each other wonderfully and create such a beautiful read.”
https://northernplunder.com/graphic-novel-review-the-garden-by-sean-wilson/
“...a beautiful read that offers a moment of calm”
https://acatabookandacupoftea.wordpress.com/2020/05/06/review-the-garden/
"...a passive look at self-awareness that is rare in this medium, presented beautifully in hard-back making it a lovely gift for the right person."
https://www.uk-anime.net/manga/The_Garden.html
My personal take on our really lovely new book is featured on Turnaround distributors blog is HERE.
Nice.
Nice.
Excellent photo by my old childhood friend, the photographer Barry-John Stewart, in the wood in Edinburgh that we used to play in:
Fumio Obata and our lovely book, The Garden, at an event organised by the Japan Society
Manga Drawing for Wellbeing
If you are stuck at home, and have a little more time on your hands, perhaps you are thinking of developing or honing new skills. The Japan Society has many resources online for those interested in finding out more about manga, or hearing from artists.
As part of this programming, we’re delighted to be able to offer our first online manga workshop with UK-based manga artist, Fumio Obata, which will focus on the healing aspects of creativity and being mindful of your surroundings, something much needed in times like these.
The workshop also reflects on Fumio's recent work, The Garden, created in collaboration with writer Sean Michael Wilson and published in May this year by Liminal 11.
https://www.japansociety.org.uk/newsitem?news=47&newscat=3
Manga Drawing for Wellbeing
If you are stuck at home, and have a little more time on your hands, perhaps you are thinking of developing or honing new skills. The Japan Society has many resources online for those interested in finding out more about manga, or hearing from artists.
As part of this programming, we’re delighted to be able to offer our first online manga workshop with UK-based manga artist, Fumio Obata, which will focus on the healing aspects of creativity and being mindful of your surroundings, something much needed in times like these.
The workshop also reflects on Fumio's recent work, The Garden, created in collaboration with writer Sean Michael Wilson and published in May this year by Liminal 11.
https://www.japansociety.org.uk/newsitem?news=47&newscat=3
A muchty wee video, like, ken. Braw!
