Contact Me

Would you like me to come on your podcast or join an Instagram Live? Drop me a line and we’ll set something up.

Are you a member of the media who needs a knowledgeable voice for a radio segment, TV show or news article? I’ve got plenty of experience with media appearances and I’m always happy to chat.

Are you the organizer of a book club and want me to do a virtual author visit? Please don’t be a stranger! I love connecting with my readers and rarely miss a chance to pop in on a discussion.

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Click on the link to drop me a line!

Linda@lindamcgurk.com

Linda-455-low-res

rainorshinemamma

Swedish American author, speaker and nature play advocate🌿 Living an open-air life⛺️ Start here👇🏼

“Can we learn to love nature from inside a house

“Can we learn to love nature from inside a house or a speeding car? Possibly, but it seems unlikely.”

Bryan Welsh, Mother Nature News

If want to raise a generation of Earth lovers, we need to give our children the opportunity to experience nature first hand. There’s no two ways about it🌿
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#rainorshinemamma #theresnosuchthingasbadweather #theopenairlife #openair #friluftsliv #livelifeoutside #lifeisbetteroutside #outdoorfamilies #wildchild #runwildmychild #1000hoursoutside

Have you registered for the Raised Good Online Sum

Have you registered for the Raised Good Online Summit yet? This transformative event will challenge the paradigm of modern parenting and deepen your confidence in your own ability to parent and lead through relationship, not strategy. The summit takes place from September 21st - 25th and is completely FREE⛰

AT THE END OF THIS 5-DAY SUMMIT, YOU’LL GAIN:
- A newfound confidence in your own abilities as a parent
- The awareness to become led by intuition and the confidence to practice it daily
- The education and research to back up your desire to parent as nature intended
- Factual insight to help you navigate challenging aspects of motherhood like sleep, breastfeeding, and discipline
- An appreciation for play, adventure, and simplifying childhood
- A community that reminds you you’re not alone in creating you own path

I will be speaking about Building Family Culture Through the Nordic Art of Friluftsliv on Day 5 and as you can see from the lineup there are 27 other great speakers at the summit this year!🙌🏽 .

Save your seat and REGISTER NOW (link in BIO) to get access to my session and learn from experts and thought leaders in conscious parenting, attachment, child development and more.
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@raisedgood #raisedgood #raisedgoodonlinesummit #parenting #naturalparenting

Lately, I’ve been feeling drained and scatterbra

Lately, I’ve been feeling drained and scatterbrained, and have had trouble staying on task😰 I suspected that my smartphone had something to do with it, since I had been self-regulating poorly and found myself constantly drawn to the online noise of news and social media. Then a couple of weeks ago, I did something I wish I would’ve done years ago - I set a screen time limit on my phone📵 And it was liberating.

With just a few clicks in the settings menu on my phone, I’d broken a bad habit simply by making it unavailable. (Shoutout to @jamesclear for making the science behind our habits - good and bad - so clear in his book Atomic Habits, which I have devoured lately.)

The first week, I reduced the screen time on my phone by 33% and so far this week I’m down by 10% more. I’m more focused and present and better able to relate to the kids’ screen time limits now that I’ve imposed one on myself. 100% recommend this simple life hack to anyone who wants to spend less time scrolling and more time strolling!🌿

So if your messages to me have gone unanswered, please have patience. I may just have run out of screen time for the day and will get back to you as soon as possible😜

Less screen time also means more time to spend with the family❤️ Last weekend was the last hurrah for summer here, so we took the opportunity to pack up the camper and took the whole gang to the Swedish west coast🏖️ Hanging on the beach was nice, but my fave part was my solo morning walk during the sunrise☀️

What are your thoughts on screen time limits, for yourself or your kids?
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#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #friluftsliv #openairlife #lifeisbetteroutside #screenfreetime #screentime #screentimelimits #atomichabits #getterön #varberg #sweden

Would you like to learn more about parenting with

Would you like to learn more about parenting with more empathy, responsiveness and connection? Or get ideas for how to simplify childhood and embrace nature in your parenting journey? These topics and many more will be covered at the much-awaited fourth annual Raised Good Online Summit, Conversations on Natural Parenting. The 5-day summit is completely FREE - and you're invited!☀️

This summit is unique in the natural parenting space bringing together experts in clinical and developmental psychology, anthropology, evolutionary science, natural health, spirituality, early childhood education, neuroscience and more. This year features 28 natural parenting experts and thought leaders and I'm honored to be one of the speakers🌳

The summit takes place September 21-25 - will you join me? It's super easy to register and then you’ll be able to access my interview as well as conversations from 27 other incredible speakers. See you there!

Comment SUMMIT and I'll send you the registration link🙌🏽 You can also find it in my bio.
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@raisedgood #raisedgood #raisedgoodonlinesummit #parentingsummit #naturalparenting #rainorshinemamma

There are many ways of doing early childhood educa

There are many ways of doing early childhood education but I must say that there’s a lot to love about the Swedish system. Here, preschool goes on until age 6 and is a mix of ECE and daycare, dubbed “educare” as it is a holistic approach to the early years🌿

The Swedish national curriculum for the preschool is 26 pages long and talks far more about giving children opportunities to grow and develop than about teaching them specific academic skills. It is quite telling that the document that governs all preschools in Sweden mentions the word “play” 28 times, “values” 25 times and “development” 74 times, whereas the word “math” is only mentioned 6 times and “reading” 1 time (and not in the context of learning how to read but that children should be given the opportunity to develop their language by listening to adults reading). Not because math and reading aren’t important but because there is an overwhelming consensus among parents and educators that childhood isn’t the time to chase imaginary academic milestones. It’s a time for children to play, explore, follow their interests, discover who they are, build integrity, acquire democratic values and develop a life-long desire to learn❤️🌿
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#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #earlychildhoodeducation #theearlyyears #preschool #preschooleducation #prek #letthemplay #letthemexplore #letthembelittle #letthembewild #letthembekids

It was an absolute joy and honor to be a guest on

It was an absolute joy and honor to be a guest on former ABC News anchor Dan Harris' podcast @tenpercenthappier and talk about the Nordic concept of friluftsliv⛺️ Dan turned his life around thanks to meditation (something you can read about in his book that goes by the same name as the podcast) and while I don't meditate in the traditional sense, I often experience a meditative flow while I'm in nature.

Did you know that friluftsliv and meditation have similar physical and mental health benefits? They can both lower our heart rate and blood pressure, reduce stress, improve sleep, control anxiety, increase self-awareness and help us be in the present moment, just to name a few😇

Learn more in the episode here 👉🏼 https://link.chtbl.com/gXmxCIJv #friluftsliv #rainorshinemamma #openairlife #theopenairlife #outdoorlife #getoutside #outsideeveryday #intotheforest #forestlover #mentalhealth #meditation

Iceland is amazing. That is all, y’all❤️

I’ve been procrastinating publishing pictures from this trip because I just didn’t want to step out of my bubble. I hadn’t seen the kids for six weeks, as they’ve spent the summer with their US family, and it was so special to have an entire week in this beautiful landscape to reconnect. Even though we practice friluftsliv in our nearby nature areas 95 percent of the time, I also recognize the power of being awed by the wild and unknown.

I’m really glad the girls jumped on the idea to adventure in a 4x4 vehicle with a rooftop tent, even though there were times when I really questioned my decision (like every time I had to cross through a river in said vehicle - Icelandic country roads are something else🤪).

I’m still processing all the experiences and emotions from this trip but let’s just say that I still believe camping is a fantastic way to grow close as a family. (On a side note, I can see myself selling my house and doing this full-time when I retire😅)
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#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #iceland #travel #outdoorfamilies #outdoorfamily #camping

“Friluftsliv is not something you can touch - it

“Friluftsliv is not something you can touch - it’s something you can feel in your soul.”
- August Casson

When I interviewed August Casson for my book The Open-Air Life, he really nailed it with his description of friluftsliv. There are so many definitions of this concept but when it comes down to it, it’s the feeling of being one with nature that does it for me. The feeling of being home.
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#friluftsliv #openairlife #theopenairlifebook #lifeintheopenair #lifeisbetteroutside #vacation #vacationfriluftsliv #norway

Have you ever made lasagna on a camp stove? If not

Have you ever made lasagna on a camp stove? If not, take this as your cue to try it! This lasagna marries one of my favorite dishes - Eggplant Parmesan - with the one-pot lasagna format that works so well for outdoor cooking.🍆🍅🍝 This recipe serves 2 and it is YUMMY! Bon appetite!😋

INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 large eggplant, cut in ¼-inch slices
1 package diced tomatoes
1 bouillon cube
1 tablespoon of mixed dried herbs, e.g. oregano, basil and thyme
½ teaspoon chili flakes
5 lasagna sheets
¼-1/2 cup water
Dash of balsamic vinaigrette
Pinch of sugar
2/3 cup grated cheese or plant-based alternative
Salt to taste
Parmesan cheese or plant-based alternative to serve

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat up the olive oil in a medium pot.
2. Add the garlic and onion and sauté while stirring until translucent.
3. Add the eggplant slices and sauté while stirring until soft and golden brown.
4. Add the diced tomatoes, bouillon and herbs, and bring to a boil.
5. Break the lasagna plates in smaller pieces and add to the pot. Stir until the lasagna plates are covered and add some water if needed.
6. Add the vinaigrette, sugar and grated cheese and cook on low heat under a lid for 15-20 minutes, or until the lasagna plates are soft. Stir intermittently to keep the lasagna from burning.
7. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.

I really enjoyed talking to Ricardo of @the_forest

I really enjoyed talking to Ricardo of @the_forest_educator_podcast about the Nordic tradition friluftsliv and how to raise the next generation of environmentalists without traumatizing them with fear of the future.
Have a listen!🎧https://podcasts.apple.com/se/podcast/raising-children-in-the-open-air-with-linda-mcgurk/id1691969065?i=1000622505258&l=en-GB
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#theopenairlife #theopenairlifebook #friluftsliv #forestschool #foresteducation #outdoorliving #outdoorlife #earlychildhoodeducation #earlychildhoodlearning #earlychildhood #environmentaleducation

When researchers try to answer the question why pe

When researchers try to answer the question why people become protective of the environment, they keep coming back to two common denominators: Environmentalists spent a lot of time in nature as children and they did it with people who were close to them. Because when somebody shares their passion for nature with a child, the child connects not only with the caregiver, but also with the land🌿

When I was little, I was fortunate enough to have several adults who shared their joy of being in nature with me. Now I do my best to pass on those experiences and that affinity for the landscape to my own children and bonus children.

I often tell people that they don’t have to be an expert naturalist to raise a nature-loving child, just be genuinely curious about the webs of life that support us. Take the time to sit and observe some local birds and try to learn their names🦅Hug a tree in your neighborhood and try to describe the smell of its leaves🌳And, if you can, bring your child to a place that truly evokes your sense of awe and wonder. It’s not a wild guess that the feeling will be contagious.
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#theopenairlife #theopenairlifebook #friluftsliv #theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #outdoorfamilies #lifeisbetteroutside #outsideeveryday #1000hoursoutside

Do you feel like the forest is your home?🌳🌲🌳
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#theopenairlife #forest #forestquotes #forestlovers #foresttherapy

The Dutch newspaper @nederlandsdagblad contacted m

The Dutch newspaper @nederlandsdagblad contacted me a while back about an interview and the story was finally published last Saturday🤩 The run up to the article was that Dutch children are supposedly the most sedentary in Europe and they were looking for tips and tricks for parents to break the vicious cycle. So I talked to them about the benefits of outdoor play and friluftsliv, as well as gave them some hands-on tips. I was delighted when I saw that the newspaper devoted three full pages and the cover of their Saturday section to this pressing topic. Hopefully, some people felt inspired and empowered to get outside with their kiddos after reading😃

📸: My talented sister @susannelund1
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#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #theopenairlife #openairlife #friluftsliv #outdoorplay

If you missed my IG Live with Katherine Martinko a

If you missed my IG Live with Katherine Martinko a.k.a. @feistyredhair, you can catch the recording here😃 Some things that we talked about were:

✅ How Katherine raised her children in an analog home
✅ How to screen time and what to do instead
✅ How digital minimalism can help make children more resilient and independent

…and much more.

Just a friendly reminder that I will be talking to

Just a friendly reminder that I will be talking to Katherine Martinko, a.k.a. @feistyredhair during an Instagram Live TODAY, Wednesday July 12 at 12pm EDT! ⏰ Katherine's new book Childhood Unplugged: Practical Advice to Get Kids Off Screens and Find Balance is a fantastic resource for parents and other caregivers who are struggling with too much screentime. Don't miss it!
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#childhoodunplugged #digitalminimalism #screenfree #screenfreeparenting

We all need a friend who is always game for advent

We all need a friend who is always game for adventure, isn’t afraid to challenge themselves and thrives from learning new things together. A friend who is willing to let go of the must do’s and the should haves to experience total and utter freedom in nature for a few days. A friend who will try your homemade chia pudding without hesitation, even when the presentation leaves a lot to be desired😅

In my experience, friendship comes easy under the open skies and I’m thankful that @jeanetteosterman asked me to join her on a trip a few years back. We’ve since made it a tradition to hike and camp together at least once per year, even if we don’t live near each other. I’m always amazed at how quickly we pick up where we left off last time, even though we don’t see each other that often🥰

Do you have a friend like this? Tag them in the comments!⛺️
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#friluftsliv #openairlife #theopenairlifebook #theresnosuchthingasbadweather #womenwhohike #womenwhoexplore #camping #campinglife

I'm soooo excited to finally get to talk to Kather

I'm soooo excited to finally get to talk to Katherine Martinko (aka @feistyredhair), a writer and author whose work I've followed and admired for the better part of a decade! Katherine's new book Childhood Unplugged: Practical Advice to Get Kids Off Screen and Find Balance is dropping next week and she is going to join me for an Instagram Live on Wednesday, July 12 at noon EDT📚

Katherine will share how she gave her three kids an analog childhood in a digital world and what the benefits are, as well as some great hands-on tips for parents who are struggling to find balance in this frenzied tech world. If you feel like screens are eating up too much of your children's (and maybe also your own) time and impacting your relationships in a negative way, you don't want to miss this one!⏰
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#childhoodunpugged #screentime #screenfreeparenting #analogchildhood #IGLive

Hi everyone!👋🏼 There are a lot of new faces

Hi everyone!👋🏼

There are a lot of new faces here, so I'd thought I'd reintroduce myself. My name is Linda Åkeson McGurk and I've run the blog RainOrShineMamma.com for nearly 10 years. I've also written two books about outdoor play and nature connection through the Nordic art of friluftsliv; There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather and The Open-Air Life, which have been translated into 11 languages and counting.

If you've read my books, you may be surprised to see how grown my daughters have become😱 Becoming a mom is what brought me down the path of outdoor play advocacy many years ago and I'm so grateful that they at age 12 and 15 still are my sidekicks outdoors. (For the record, this photo was taken during a photo shoot for a Dutch newspaper and is not representative for what we normally look like while hanging in nature. I essentially quit wearing makeup years ago and consider hiking pants to be perfectly acceptable party attire😅).

Anyway, here are 9 random and (mostly) irrelevant facts about me:

🌲 I’m an introvert who'd rather go for a walk in the woods than attend a big party
🐰 My first business was running a rabbit hotel in my backyard
🥔 I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 8 years old and recently went 100% plant-based (ironically, I'm horrible at gardening and only capable of growing potatoes)
🚗 For a country girl, I’m surprisingly good at parallel parking
☕️ I never learned to drink coffee
🍄 My latest outdoor passion is foraging for mushrooms
🧥 I once went an entire year without buying any new clothes, aside from a pair of wool socks
🍫 I usually keep a secret stash of chocolate in my nightstand (don’t tell the kids…)
⛰ My favorite place to hike is Sápmi (also known as Swedish Lapland)
📣 One of my pet peeves is people playing loud music while hiking otherwise quiet nature trails.

How about you? Will you make my day by sharing a random fact in the comments?

📸: @susannelund1
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#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #friluftsliv #openairlife #theopenairlifebook #outdoorfamilies #outdoorfamily #lifeisbetteroutside

🌲Waldeinsamkeit - the feeling of solitude in th

🌲Waldeinsamkeit - the feeling of solitude in the forest🌲
Have you ever heard this word? I came across it a while ago and it immediately spoke to me, since I often go to the forest to be alone, gravitating toward the paths less traveled. I think there's something beautiful about words that explore the space where humans and nature intersect, especially at a time when we are becoming increasingly alienated from the natural world. Words are a reflection of the times and the culture in which we live and by using them we can ensure that they don't disappear from the public consciousness. Of course the drawback in this case is that there's no equivalent to Waldeinsamkeit in English (at least that I know of) and I'm not sure how to pronounce it😅 Do I have any German-speaking followers that can help out? I'm also curious to know if this word is often used in everyday life (like friluftsliv is in Norway and Sweden), or if it's a dated term🤔
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#waldinsamkeit #forest #wald #rainorshinemamma #theopenairlife #theresnosuchthingasbadweather #friluftsliv #forestsolitude #forestloneliness #german

To me, a huge part of open-air life is to cook and

To me, a huge part of open-air life is to cook and eat meals outside and I’m here to show you that it doesn’t have to be fancy or difficult😋 Fridays are usually tortilla nights around here and this type of food lends itself really well to the camp stove. Plus, the tortillas are easy to eat outside since they don’t require any silverware. I used ingredients that I already had on hand to make these tortillas and they got a thumbs up from my kids, which is no small feat😅😋

Ingredients:
6 medium tortillas
1 tbs vegetable fat for the pan
1 yellow onion
10 ounces soy granulates
I bag of taco seasoning
1 package diced tomatoes
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 avocado
1 small can corn
Sour cream or plant-based alternative

Enjoy!
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#friluftsliv #openairlife #theopenairlifebook #openairlifestyle #outdoorcooking #recipe #plantbased #plantbasedrecipes #plantbasedoutdoors

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