Cold: Lessons of Place, Presence and Practice

For centuries, human beings struggled to survive the extremes. From scorching heat to icy cold, temperature fluctuation has always been a challenging fact of everyday life, never more so than now on our changing planet. But thanks to modern-day heating and insulation, exposure to cold is now something we almost always choose – so why are so many of us doing so?

We are in the midst of a cold exposure obsession. From sauna and cold plunge treatments to wild swimming in Arctic seas, Cold explores our relationship to cold and its seemingly transformative effect on our health and mental wellbeing. Yet cold exposure is not simply a modern health hack: it has long been part of our social and cultural traditions, from Ancient Greek ice baths to Christmas Day dips. Through shared rituals of pleasure and endurance, cold has fostered connections between people, places and nature.

From the windy beaches and snowy forests of the Pacific Northwest and Scandinavia to Canada’s wild and frigid Yukon and the mystifying terrain of Greenland, Cold is packed with personal insights and first-hand accounts from communities whose relationship with the weather has shaped their very existence.

With the climate crisis driving anxiety and undermining global health, reconnecting with nature is, for many, more important than ever. While exposing ourselves to the elements often brings extremes to mind, Cold makes clear that anything from ecotherapy to forest bathing – or even simply getting outside our temperature-controlled offices and homes – can reinvigorate our physical and mental health, reconnect us to nature, and promote adaptation and resilience in our changing world.