'A kind, calm, warm book. Reading it feels like taking a deep breath.' JESSICA STANLEY

'Jodi's warm and intimate writing delivers sharp, current science to create a masterwork of living with intention.' RACHAEL MOGAN MCINTOSH

'I am someone who has pushed myself to near burnout too frequently and for too long. I was a little nervous to read Jodi's book, but I'm so glad I did because the strategies she suggests are accessible, achievable, and they truly work.' DR ELIZA HANNAM

'A gentle, thoroughly researched book filled with quiet wisdom. Using powerful evidence, Jodi shows us true wellness begins with the brain.' INDIRA NAIDOO

'With compassion and clarity, this book offers a quietly radical alternative to quick-fix self-help'. MILLIE HARDIE

'Jodi Wilson is a crusader for a simpler life, pushing back at a world that shouts at us to be more, to do more, to spend more.' MAGGIE MACKELLAR

★Turn down the volume, let your brain breathe and learn to live well in this practical, actionable and evidence-based guide from best-selling author Jodi Wilson.

It's a lot, we say. And sometimes, it's true – everyday life feels like too much! So what habits can we prioritise for mental clarity and creative verve? How can we wind back to care for the basic needs of our biology, while continuing to do what's normal and necessary? Best-selling author and respected health journalist Jodi Wilson explores the practical and accessible evidence-based habits that can allow us all to live well.

After a lifetime with anxiety, Jodi wanted to better understand herself so she could continue being creative and productive without slipping into the modern maladies of overwhelm and exhaustion. In this fascinating evidence-based exploration of the brain and the body, she discovers that neuroscientists and psychologists as well as artists and sustainable living experts all agree on the one habit that can change how we live. It's something our ancestors had in abundance but what we've essentially eradicated from our lives: free time, spare time, leisure time — breathing space.

Right now our brains are overwhelmed and our schedules too busy; we need to reinstate breathing space regardless of how and where we live. This goes beyond and beneath the self-care paradigm we've been sold: instead of looking ahead for answers, we need to consider our evolutionary biology and what our ancestors would have done 10,000 years ago.

In this gentle, wise and actionable guide, you'll learn the science, simply. Full of evidence-based suggestions to embrace the power of 'soft fascination', 'enoughness' and intentional 'not-doing' so you can declutter your mind, restore your attention, and live a big, beautiful, productive life.

Jodi Wilson is the bestselling author of four books, a respected health journalist and postpartum doula. Her work has featured in The Guardian and ABC and she writes two bestselling newsletters on substack: Practising Simplicity and Dear New Mum. She lives in a small town in Tasmania with her partner and their four children.