Solace is that feeling of calm and comfort, that sense of peace that is all around us when we are open to finding it.

Writer and photographer Catherine Drea explores the solace to be found in nature and creativity. She reflects on loss, the cycle of life and the healing power of family and community. She muses on the joy of finding a place to call home, the escape that travel brings and the exhilaration of plunging into our waters - all the while embracing the therapeutic power of observing the ordinary and the everyday.
With the passing seasons, her camera captures fleeting moments in nature - the light and lie of the land with its precious wildlife: among them sentinel robins, elusive Irish hares and serene swans.
Solace is quite simply a balm for the soul.

'In this beautiful book Catherine Drea explores deeply emotive issues, calms the mind, soothes the soul, and focuses her sensitive lens on the wonders of the natural world.'
Alice Taylor, author of To School through the Fields

About the Author

Catherine Drea is a visual artist, writer and blogger who lives and works in rural County Waterford. Catherine writes a column called 'As I See It' for the Waterford News & Star and a blog on www.foxglovelane.com.
A graduate of National College of Art and Design (NCAD) and University College Cork (UCC), she has worked as a graphic designer, an art teacher and a group facilitator. In 1994 she co-founded Framework, a small charitable organisation, which supported community development and equality projects in Ireland. In 2010, after the economic crisis, Catherine and the Framework team began working from home. In 2011 she began to blog about Foxglove Lane, the small patch she calls home, and has won four Irish Blog Awards, including Best Photography Blog in 2018.

A lifelong activist, Catherine has been a campaigner in a number of social movements over the years. She remains a passionate advocate of equality, biodiversity and the natural world. She is currently Chairperson of the Waterford Healing Arts.

Reviews

In this beautiful book Catherine Drea, while delicately exploring deeply emotive issues, calms the mind, soothes the soul and, through the sensitive lens of her camera, focuses the eye on the wonders of the natural world

-- Alice Taylor

Catherine explores the solace she finds in the natural world...Her beautiful photographs enhance the text as she shares the beauty that surrounds her. The verdict: A gentle, meditative book encouraging us to slow down and appreciate the things that connect us.

-- Irish Examiner

in this moving memoir, photographer and artist Catherine Drea explores solace found in the cyclical nature of seasons and indeed our lives, lives often unfathomable and dark with shadows.... Ultimately a book of seasons where nature photography dominates, the pages are as leaves, each overturn revealing thoughts, wildlife and poetry, both in Irish and English... Although a feminine book, its importance is for all. Amid this technological invasion, is what was once considered New Age/Alternative now becoming mainstream, as humans, spiritual beings, need more than ever to experience magic and mystery in woodlands or under starlit skies?

-- Irish Examiner

What a wonderful book, not just the photographs which are incredible but also the sentiment in the book ... the journey through nature ... just a wonderful book

-- East Coast FM's Morning Show



Book Information
ISBN 9781788492973
Author Catherine Drea
Format Hardback
Page Count 224
Imprint O'Brien Press Ltd
Publisher O'Brien Press Ltd
Weight(grams) 448g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 135mm * 22mm