Annie's Garden Journal

Book excerpt: In this quirky, funny, and moving book, Annie, a wannabe Master Gardener, travels back and forth with us between her present backyard in California and her past growing up in New York City. In a journal chronicling the burgeoning of a garden, we see Annie transform herself from a sometimes angry, confused young woman into an empowered, if unconventional, bride ready to take on the future. When her longtime companion proposes marriage, a fear of commitment arises, and childhood memories of her parents' bitter divorce come streaming in. Along with some wonderful and some turbulent memories, she is forced to face the demons of her past and present: a difficult childhood with parents from oppressive backgrounds and the alliance she and her three sisters formed to protect themselves from parental conflict; a drawn-out, internal struggle with the idea of marriage; the frustration of trying to turn an unruly yard into her dream garden; and a new, closer relationship with her father upon his retirement.