The Path from Trauma to The Power of Nature: An Interview with Banning Lyon

Mad in America: Rethinking Mental Health

Our guest today is Banning Lyon, author of The Chair and The Valley: A Memoir of Trauma, Healing, and The Outdoors. An account of the abuse he suffered after being hospitalized in a psychiatric facility at age 15 and the long journey toward joy and awe that followed, his memoir was published this spring by Penguin Random House. He first wrote about his experiences in 1993 for The New York Times and, more recently, for the Washington Post.

Based in California’s bay area, Lyon is an outdoor educator and backpacking guide whose engagement with nature was a key force in his recovery. His website is banninglyon.com.

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