Mr. Owita's Guide To Gardening: How I Learned The Unexpected Joy Of A Green Thumb And An Open Heart (2000) - Plot & Excerpts
I thought this was fiction at first and when I realized it was an author's first book & memoir, I thought the author was too hard on herself. As she says herself, no one is perfect. This is a book for anyone who has suffered from a depression and been brought back into the world of the living by an unexpected "kindred spirit." Carol Wall is introspective & depressed and neither she or her husband is interested in gardening. They have let their property get by on bare minimum maintenance until she finally realizes that she is becoming embarrassed by the overgrowth. Her neighbor's yard is beautiful following the employment of a gardener named Owita. Carol decides to ask for his assistance also and her life is quietly transformed.Although I am a very private person, I do not like to be alone and crave the company of others - especially when feeling low in my own life. This lovely little book resonated with me and Carol Wall seemed to learn this life lesson later than most. It is always life affirming and humbling to be in the company of good friends. I cried at the ending not knowing a portion of their story. Would recommend not reading any other reviews/synopses prior to reading this beautiful novel. Sometimes they give too much of the plot away! This is cancer memoir, and while showing the human coping side, and imperfect way that we all go about our lives, this author is steeped from first to last page in fear fear fear, which colors all her actions and reactions to her life and the people in it. I found the writing awkward, and all of it difficult to read, yet this person is telling her story, and that is important. To be courageous enough to record it, and to possibly offer perspective to others is commendable, yet i'm not sure that it will be comforting. I didn't get the sense that her suffering has lessened at any point during her life, and for that, I'm deeply saddened.
What do You think about Mr. Owita's Guide To Gardening: How I Learned The Unexpected Joy Of A Green Thumb And An Open Heart (2000)?
Honestly, if I was Mr. Owita, I would have run every time I saw Mrs. Wall coming in my direction.
—KBohner
Words cannot convey what my heart feels about this brave book.
—jimylopez
