The moment I became a mom in the U.S. I knew I had a story to tell – the story about parenting in Scandinavia and everything that it entails, including outdoor napping, forest schools and raising children who care about nature. Well, it’s been nine years since my oldest daughter was born and the road to publishing my parenting memoir has been lined with love, sweat and a few tears. The writing phase is now over and I’m totally stoked to let you know that There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather: A Scandinavian Mom’s Secrets for Raising Healthy, Resilient and Confident Kids will be published by Touchstone on October 3! Better yet, it’s already available for pre-order from online book sellers. (You’ll find all the links at the end of this post.)
Here’s the publisher’s description of There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather:
“Bringing Up Bébé meets Last Child in the Woods in this lively, insightful memoir about a mother who sets out to discover if the nature-centric parenting philosophy of her native Scandinavia holds the key to healthier, happier lives for her American children.
When Swedish-born Linda McGurk moved to small-town Indiana with her American husband to start a family, she quickly realized that her outdoorsy ways were not the norm. In Sweden children play outside all year round, regardless of the weather, and letting young babies nap outside in freezing temperatures is not only common—it is a practice recommended by physicians. In the US, on the other hand, she found that the playgrounds, which she had expected to find teeming with children, were mostly deserted. In preschool, children were getting drilled to learn academic skills, while their Scandinavian counterparts were climbing trees, catching frogs, and learning how to compost. Worse, she realized that giving her daughters the same freedom to play outside that she had enjoyed as a child in Sweden could quickly lead to a visit by Child Protective Services.
The brewing culture clash finally came to a head when McGurk was fined for letting her children play in a local creek, setting off an online firestorm when she expressed her anger and confusion on her blog. The rules and parenting philosophies of her native country and her adopted homeland were worlds apart.
Struggling to fit in and to decide what was best for her children, McGurk turned to her own childhood for answers. Could the Scandinavian philosophy of “there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes” be the key to better lives for her American children? And how would her children’s relationships with nature change by introducing them to Scandinavian concepts like friluftsliv (“open-air living”) and hygge (the coziness and the simple pleasures of home)? McGurk embarked on a six-month-long journey to Sweden to find out. There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather is a fascinating personal narrative that highlights the importance of spending time outdoors, and illustrates how the Scandinavian culture could hold the key to raising healthier, resilient, and confident children in America.”
Use the links below to pre-order your copy of There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather now. And if you’re a blogger who would like to receive a review copy of the book, shoot me a message!
Online book sellers:
I know there’s great interest for my book in Scandinavia and although the book is only available in English right now, international shoppers can order it from Amazon in the U.K. or Amazon in Germany.
Lastly, thank you for reading this blog and being a part of this community. You inspire me on a daily basis and helped motivate me to write down my story. Hopefully, it will help many other parents who are yearning to give their children a playful, healthy and nature-infused childhood.
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Oh, I’d love to read this book! I’m trying hard to incorporate lots of nature into my son’s (still a toddler) daily life.
Love what you’re doing for your son; I hope and believe my book will be an inspiring read for parents like you!
I am *SO* excited for you, Linda!
I am excited for anyone who reads the book too. I know it is going to have an amazing impact!
Here’s to a wildly successful launch!
Thank you so much, Dawn! I really appreciate all your support.
Congratulations! We need more of this, so thank you for writing the book. I hope that it will inspire parents, families, friends, educators, administrators to really take a long hard look at how children actually are, instead of what they want them to be. As I had expressed before, as a manager of education in a park system, I am trying to get my educators to think this way so it becomes the norm for all of our participants. I cannot wait to read it!
Thank you so much for your encouraging words, Mandy! I hope that this book will reach a broad audience and introduce these ideas to people who are not familiar with them. Keep up the good work with your education program!
I lived in Oslo for a couple of months and loved how the kids were raised there. After coming back to India ( Pregnant with my first baby ) I looked and tried to find deeply how things are done there. A guide to lead me in the upbringing I wish. Am glad I could find this. It sounds amazing. Let me see is I can order it in India. Thanks for the book.
I love learning about parenting in different cultures as well; it’s interesting to see just how different things are. I hope you’ll be able to order the book from India – maybe Amazon UK? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Theres-Such-Thing-Bad-Weather/dp/150114362X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1516880266&sr=1-1&keywords=there%27s+no+such+thing+as+bad+weather