sadiereadsagain's review against another edition
4.0
This book had been on my radar, so when I saw it was available on Netgalley I jumped at the chance. I'm interested in reading about women who are facing mental health issues, and I want more nature in my reading, and this seemed to be bringing those two elements together.
This is Schiller's memoir of moving to a small holding in Kent, leaving their life in London. It turns out to be a much larger undertaking than her and her family anticipated. Rebecca ends up taking on a lot of the work herself, burning herself out and into a frenzy of anxiety and stress. Either because of that or simply by coincidence, Schiller experiences a disintegration in her mental health. Paradoxically, order to cope and heal, she uses that contact with the earth, and turns to the history of the house and land through the women who came before her.
I'm not sure if you can have spoilers for memoirs, but I wont say what diagnosis Schiller ends up pursuing. What I will say is that I found this section fascinating, as it is the first time I've read of a woman exploring this condition. It spoke to me very acutely. It is an emerging area, particular for women and girls, and from a personal perspective is something I found very interesting. She is introspective and also incredibly deft at putting into words the way her mind works, how she views herself and how her thought processes develop.
I really enjoyed this book. Schiller has reference points which are possibly more cultured than mine, and so I didn't always connect with what she was saying, but I thought her writing style was really rich. At times, particularly when discussing the women (actual or as she imagines them to be) who inhabited the land before her, it's almost lyrical. I liked that she could have that element, but then also a much more real voice when talking about her everyday life. She can be quite direct and honest, particularly when it came to her relationship with her husband. I'm not sure how he'd feel about how he is portrayed in this book, but I do think he should count himself lucky she didn't apply more reflection than she did...
This book is definitely mental health first, nature second. But the nature that she does write about is both informative and incredibly beautiful. Schiller has a very elegant writing style, but elegant in a way that opens her up to the reader rather than keeping them at arm's length. I would love a further memoir from her to see where she goes from here, both in terms of her mental health and the future of her smallholding.
I received a Netgalley of this title from Elliott and Thompson in return for a review. All opinions are my own.
This is Schiller's memoir of moving to a small holding in Kent, leaving their life in London. It turns out to be a much larger undertaking than her and her family anticipated. Rebecca ends up taking on a lot of the work herself, burning herself out and into a frenzy of anxiety and stress. Either because of that or simply by coincidence, Schiller experiences a disintegration in her mental health. Paradoxically, order to cope and heal, she uses that contact with the earth, and turns to the history of the house and land through the women who came before her.
I'm not sure if you can have spoilers for memoirs, but I wont say what diagnosis Schiller ends up pursuing. What I will say is that I found this section fascinating, as it is the first time I've read of a woman exploring this condition. It spoke to me very acutely. It is an emerging area, particular for women and girls, and from a personal perspective is something I found very interesting. She is introspective and also incredibly deft at putting into words the way her mind works, how she views herself and how her thought processes develop.
I really enjoyed this book. Schiller has reference points which are possibly more cultured than mine, and so I didn't always connect with what she was saying, but I thought her writing style was really rich. At times, particularly when discussing the women (actual or as she imagines them to be) who inhabited the land before her, it's almost lyrical. I liked that she could have that element, but then also a much more real voice when talking about her everyday life. She can be quite direct and honest, particularly when it came to her relationship with her husband. I'm not sure how he'd feel about how he is portrayed in this book, but I do think he should count himself lucky she didn't apply more reflection than she did...
This book is definitely mental health first, nature second. But the nature that she does write about is both informative and incredibly beautiful. Schiller has a very elegant writing style, but elegant in a way that opens her up to the reader rather than keeping them at arm's length. I would love a further memoir from her to see where she goes from here, both in terms of her mental health and the future of her smallholding.
I received a Netgalley of this title from Elliott and Thompson in return for a review. All opinions are my own.
raincityreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
vegedarien's review against another edition
might go back to it later as the writing is without a doubt beautiful, but it just wasn't holding my attention right now
ramosbr18's review
3.75
This book should have been a 5 star for me. I’m interested in every aspect. Mental health, homestead, plants, women’s history, poetic writing. But I found myself not wanting to pick this book up and forcing myself to read it.
luckcat's review
4.0
An enjoyable read but I think I would enjoy it more if I read it a second time!
bex_knighthunterbooks's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.25
This was a well-written memoir, mixing two things I'm interested in: homesteading and mental health. I generally enjoyed the reading experience, but unfortunately, this has left me without many strong feelings and I think I'll find this forgettable. My favourite parts were probably about the struggles of neurodivergence, and the diagnosis process in the UK. If this had been the first such story I had heard I think this could have been really powerful for me. The writing was also generally very good, nicely flowing and poetic at times and emotive when needed. I thought I would find a lot in common with Rebecca's smallholding dreams, but there wasn't as much detail as I hoped about making a homestead work and the hard decisions that needed to be made - most of the sections focussed on this side of her life were more like general nature writing and observing nature's changing seasons or about raising a family. The sections that worked least well for me were the fictionalised parts, and those that focussed on historical research and etymology, which are not interests of mine.