In the Moment

In the Moment is a series of portable, accessible books from Saraband, exploring the role of both mind and body in movement, purpose, and reflection, finding ways of being fully present in our activities and environment.

The first four titles in the series published in 2023: The Zen of Climbing by Francis Sanzaro, Writing Landscape by Linda Cracknell; Watching Wildlife by Jim Crumley and Interpreting Dreams by Clare Gibson.

2024 saw the publication of Permaculture by Maya Blackwell and Atoms of Delight by Kenneth Steven. On Community by Casey Plett, Dragonfly-Friendly Gardener by Ruary Mackenzie Dodds, Dark Skies by Anna Levin and Green Verse edited by Rosie Storey Hilton.

The first half of 2025 will see The Craft of Bouldering and The Zen of the Wild both by Francis Sanzaro, with The Gardener and the Moth following later in the year.

In early 2026 In Search of Gems by Kenneth Steven and Nature’s Almanac by Susie White will publish – with more books to follow!

The Zen of the Wild
by Francis Sanzaro

As we live increasingly urbanised lives, we seek out wilderness and green space in times of hardship and turmoil, or simply during our leisure time. In the process of exploring and understanding more about the benefits of being in nature, many of us have taken up swimming, forest bathing, cycling, hiking and running in the open air. But when we spend this time in the wild, are we really connected to it?

To foster a genuine connection with the natural world, and to better protect it, we must embrace its contradictions as well as the surface beauty. Through deeper engagement with our environment, we can discover the wild within ourselves, too.

The Zen of Climbing
by Francis Sanzaro

Climbing is a sport of perception, and our level of attainment is a matter of mind as much as body. To be successful in climbing, the art of focused awareness must be perfected alongside physical fitness, strength and technique.

Written by philosopher, essayist, and lifelong climber Francis Sanzaro, The Zen of Climbing explores the fundamentals of successful climbing, delving into sports psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, and Taoism. Awareness, he argues, is the foundation of climbing, allowing us to merge mental and physical attributes in one embodied whole.

The Craft of Bouldering 
by Francis Sanzaro

A collection of concise and enlightening essays and reflections on the art of bouldering, from the author of bestseller The Zen of Climbing.

More than a sport, bouldering is a craft that demands equal fine-tuning of the mind and body. It calls for total commitment and attentiveness. Here, climber, writer, and philosopher Francis Sanzaro brings the discipline into conversation with other sports and arts including architecture, dance, skateboarding, painting, parkour, martial arts, and gymnastics.

The Craft of Bouldering will enrich and enhance your climbing and encourage you to appreciate the natural physicality and artful play of bouldering.

The Gardener and the Moth: Planting for Moths and Butterflies
by Susie White

Learn how to create a garden that works both day and night for moths and butterflies, attracting stunning species and helping both flora and fauna to thrive.

Moths are a crucial but forgotten pollinator, often overlooked in favour of their brighter cousin – the butterfly. But, by ignoring moths, we are missing out on gardens that could be filled with more joy, movement and biodiversity. If we could build gardens that pay both pollinators the attention they deserve, we might just be rewarded with healthier, more beautiful ecosystems.

In Search of Gems: Exploring for Scotland’s Treasures
by Kenneth Steven

Blending lyrical prose with personal reflection, Kenneth Steven explores mountains, glens and shores in search of gemstones and crystals. He recounts his delight at discoveries of gold glinting in Highland burns, freshwater pearls embedded in mussel shells, and aquamarines, amethysts, garnets, amber and agates hidden in the wild places where others rarely roam.

Nature’s Almanac: A Gift for Every Day of the Year
by Susie White

This beautifully compact book invites you to pause and notice one remarkable phenomenon of the natural world each day, drawing inspiration from the Japanese tradition of microseasons—seventy-two poetic intervals that celebrate nature’s subtle shifts. With her signature blend of lyrical observation, experience and insight, Susie guides readers through fleeting moments: the first snowdrop buds of spring, the song of larks on the wing, or the golden turning of leaves as the days shorten once more.

Dark Skies
by Anna Levin

The darkness of the night represents something unknowable – even frightening – to many. But when we really look up and into it, we can find celestial light shows, whole ecosystems, and, perhaps, a new perspective.

In this short volume, Anna Levin looks at how we can learn from and nurture our relationship with the night sky even and especially in the context of our changing world.

As you learn how to see and treasure the night sky, a sense of wonder about the universe will help you to understand more about our own pale blue dot.

Atoms of Delight: Ten Pilgrimages in Nature
by Kenneth Steven

The short pieces in this captivating collection, whose title pays homage to Scottish Renaissance writer Neil Gunn, invite readers to accompany Steven as he seeks out crystal-clear waters, a glimpse of an elusive bird, delicate orchids, plump berries, or pebbles polished by time and tide. Appreciative of the grace of silence and the value of solitude and simplicity, he takes journeys that prompt introspection and provoke memories as we pause, breathe, and discover alongside him the transformative power of nature’s small gifts and wild places.

As you set out on your own pilgrimages, you will discover the extraordinary that can be found in the everyday when you take the time to look for it.

Watching Wildlife
by Jim Crumley

To watch wildlife, it’s essential not only to learn an animal’s ways, the times and places you may find it, but also to look inward: to station yourself, focus, and wait. The experience depends on your stillness, silence, and full attention, watching and listening with minimal movement and if possible staying downwind so that your presence is not sensed.

With decades of close observation of wild animals and birds, Jim Crumley has found himself up close and personal with many of our most elusive creatures, studying their movements, noting details, and offering intimate insights into their extraordinary lives. Here, he draws us into his magical world, showing how we can learn to watch wildlife well, and what doing so can mean for our ability to care for it, and care for ourselves.

Writing Landscape
by Linda Cracknell

In this varied essay collection, Linda backpacks on a small island that is connected to the mainland only at low tide. In winter snow, she hikes the wooded hillside close to her home, a place she is intimately familiar with in all seasons. And she retraces over three days the steps of a trek made by her parents seven decades earlier. She explores her inspirations, in nature and from other artists and their work, and she offers thoughtful writing prompts.

Reading this collection will take you to new places, open your eyes to the world, and suggest ways to take note and make notes as you go—to inspire your own attentive looking, journaling, and writing practice.

Permaculture: Planting the Seeds of Radical Regeneration
by Maya Blackell

Permaculture practitioner and poet Maya Blackwell writes with expertise and personal experience of the transformative power of permaculture for both people and the planet. As well as tracing its evolution – from its roots in Indigenous societies to the important role it plays in urban allotments today – you will discover how the practice could nurture individual and collective wellbeing. There are opportunities throughout for reflection, creativity and connection. These present valuable lessons we can all learn from the principles of permaculture, to help us build resilience and lean into the long-term process of trying new things, adapting failures and reaping all that we sow.

Green Verse: An Anthology of Poems for our Planet by Rosie Storey Hilton

Taking time for nature poetry is an act of reverence for the natural world, and a path to understanding our part in it.

Arranged by season – and full of surprises – this anthology shows the vast breadth of writing on the natural world, and challenges homogenous ideas of what a nature poet can look like. The choices in this anthology see beloved poets celebrated alongside new and emerging writers, who voices echo the urgency of the crisis we now face. Together, they show what we have in common across countries and centuries: an undeniable kinship with nature, and a fierce will to protect it.

On Community
by Casey Plett

Community. It’s a word we are used to hearing everywhere from political speeches to fast-food advertisements. But can we really define it?

On Community does crucial work in pushing harder on words and ideas we take for granted. It invites us to be more careful and intentional with our language, to consider how we relate to those we know – and to those we don’t know at all.

Dragonfly-Friendly Gardening
by Ruary Mackenzie Dodds

With stunning colours and phenomenal flying abilities, dragonflies are beautiful creatures that are also vital to our ecosystem. This book outlines, too, how caring for something as specific and delicate as a dragonfly can provide a welcome respite from the everyday demands of life. We can, as always, learn so much from the natural world, even – and sometimes especially – from its smallest creatures.

Learn how to transform your garden into a haven for dragonflies and damselflies, nurturing your own mental health and protecting the planet as you do so.

Interpreting Dreams
by Clare Gibson

This compact volume approaches dreaming with a mindful eye, asking us to spend time reflecting on our dreams to help us decipher their secrets and discover what our nighttime unconscious could reveal about our daily lives, needs and desires. By bringing awareness to the time we spend dreaming, we can learn to become more present and fulfilled in our daily lives, and perhaps even alleviate some of our most persistent anxieties.