Can't see the wood for the Trees

Please join us on the new alison smith website. 

Using nature as our coach, and her landscapes as metaphors for our lives - particularly when we're using her landscapes to describe our current situation: e.g. Can't see the wood(s) for the trees, stuck in a rut, up the creek without a paddle, going round in circles, treading water, missed the tide, like a fish out of water and so on. The premise of the book is that those very landscapes have the answer too - yep the woods, ruts, and creeks have the insight to solve the problem. (Find out more here).

Available from Amazon com, Amazon uk, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, WHS, Waterstones, Deep Books, Inner Traditions, IndieBound, & Findhorn Press.

Trade orders please see Simon & Schuster, or your local wholesaler (e.g I know it's on Gardners and Bertrams website.)

NB: some website search engines are getting confused by use of cant or can't in the book title and come back with a nil return :-( Searching for Landscaping Your Life or even Wood for the Trees seems to work on most sites or ISBN: 978 1 84409 749 4 

Chapters explore each of the sayings shown here:

Radio and Podcast Interviews about the book can be found here

Reviews of the book can be found on: The mindful word, Intuitive Connections Network and below 

"I've now come upon a book that has the same basis is the I Ching: nature as source of wisdom, synchronicity, and symbols. In this case, however, the symbols are the items of nature, not abstract lines.

The basic idea of Can’t See the Wood for the Trees?: Landscaping Your Life to Get Back on Track is to use one's actual life space as the divinatory board, to reframe one's existence as a landscape, and then to learn lessons from the trees and begin a process of editing, re-arranging, and updating the landscape of one's life. This approach goes a whole lot farther than resting against a tree, listening to the wind in the leaves, and hearing a message. We're talking about the entire environment."

Harry Reed, Intuitive Connections Network

Here's what others have to say about Landscaping your Life, the book and Alison.

"It can be hard to unravel the problems that life has a way of throwing at us. Alison's use of metaphors helps with that unravelling, and works. The Landscaping Your Life process took me on a journey so I could literally see the woods from the trees. This book will help you to navigate your world in a whole new way." 

Amy McDonald, CEO of Headtorch, creating positive mental health at work

“The Landscaping Your Life process presented in the book shows us how the metaphors we use to describe our lives might be initially disempowering but then go on to stimulate creative ways out of our mental traps.” 

Geoff Roberts, catalyst at Hidden Resources

“Landscaping Your Life is a brilliant approach, heartily recommended. Alison has extraordinary energy and an almost spooky sense of where people are and what they need. I have learned/worked/played alongside Alison for more than a decade and found her insights always useful.” 

Ruth Wallsgrove, management consultant

“Alison and I first had the discussion about using metaphors to solve a challenge I was facing in a Warsaw restaurant a few years ago. At the time I thought, ‘What? Give me more wine…this is uncomfortable’. Then I persisted and the answer presented itself, by using the metaphor, and I was converted.” 

Sara Walsh Evans, managing director at The Respectory

“There is nothing more invigorating than taking a step back and being challenged to view life with a different perspective. Whether it is seeing the wood for the trees, stepping out of a rut or not burying your head in the sand…all techniques outlined in this book have helped me face life head on!” 

Cara Murphy, head of commercial contract and supplier management

“Alison is one of the best coaches I have ever had the pleasure of working with (and I've worked with a few!). She has a highly practical nature and combines it with strong intuition and unconventional tools to guide you to find insights and answers to specific challenges. … As with any transformational coaching, you need to be prepared to take responsibility for personal change and get out of your comfort zone to find the answers you need, but Alison makes this easy with her approach.”

Mel Sherwood, author of The AuthorityGuide to Pitching Your Business

“I told Alison I knew I was making a bit of a mountain out of a molehill for an issue I had, and even though I knew this, I was still stuck. She asked me questions about it, so I looked at my metaphor for the problem in a different light. She made me see that how I saw the problem was affecting my ability to do something about it.” 

Caroline Johnstone, author of Dare to be Happier: An Introduction to the Magic of Journaling to transform your life.

“Alison always hits the nail on the head when it comes to steering me in the right direction, whether personally or for a business issue. She is great to work with and a very positive person. I would recommend her whether you just need more clarity in your life or if you are looking for a whole new direction.” 

Brian Wood, owner of the Message Collective

“It’s too easy to get caught up in the content of a challenge we’re facing. That is, ‘she said this, and I said that’, and before we know it all we’ve done is spent hours talking ourselves into justifying why we’re stuck and why we can’t do anything about it. With Alison as my guide, the use of landscapes as metaphors for issues I’m facing has allowed me to observe the situation afresh without the oughts, shoulds and can’ts getting in the way. By noticing a new path, turning a real or metaphorical corner, stepping out of a rut, or cutting down some imaginary trees, solutions have emerged. More importantly, action plans developed and steps taken in a new direction.”

Sufiya Gillespie, coaching client