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purplemuskogee's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.5
I did not realise before starting the book that mental health would be such a big part of it, but I think that made it more interesting and enjoyable. The author, Rebecca Schiller, had moved with her husband and two children to the countryside and is making big plans of planting vegetables and flowers, keeping hens, and living more sustainably - essentially my dream life - but is crippled by anxiety and something else which she is desperate to get a diagnosis for. The memoir is sometimes poorly structured - in theory it is organised by season, but there are many digressions about farming communities, women farmers from past centuries, and at times it can be hard to follow. After finishing the book I wondered if this jumping around with different ideas was maybe a deliberate illustration of the mental health diagnosis she receives at the end of the memoir. Regardless, some of these passages where she imagines the thoughts and lives of women whose names she found in local history books and archives felt unnecessary; but overall this is a well-written book, with interesting comments on privilege, mental health, meaning and nature.
Free ARC received from Netgalley.
Free ARC received from Netgalley.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders