Description

LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARD FOR NON-FICTION
THE TIMES / WATERSTONES TOP 10 BESTSELLER
A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE INDEPENDENT, STYLIST, RHS, GARDENS ILLUSTRATED and more

Women have always gardened, but our stories have been buried with our work. Alice Vincent is on a quest to change that: to understand what encourages women to go out, work the soil, plant seeds and nurture them, even when so many other responsibilities sit upon their shoulders. To recover the histories that have been lost among the soil and to understand women’s lives, their gardens and what the ground has offered them.

Wise, curious and sensitive, Why Women Grow follows Alice in her search for answers, with inquisitive fronds reaching and curling around the intimate anecdotes of others.

Publisher Review

Above all, this is a wonderful tribute to the perseverance and tenacity of women . . . full of restless curiosity about gardening, life, the longing for meaning, and the simple yet quietly feminist act of creating a space for yourself * * Independent * * Why Women Grow shows the beauty and grit of tending the soil in difficult times -- KATHERINE MAY A poignant exploration of the relationship between healing and growing, and the power and mystery of nature * * New Statesman * * Both tender yet fierce . . . I loved it -- RAYNOR WINN Alice Vincent delves into what it is that makes women want to garden, uncovering what drives the urge to sow seeds and nurture plants, and by doing so goes on her own journey of discovery * * Sunday Times * * A conversational odyssey from a Canary Wharf balcony to Charleston, the Bloomsbury set's hangout, and a windswept smallholding in Denmark. Why Women Grow is the splendid-looking account of these encounters. The narrative unfurls like a vagabond anthology of potted biographies, confessions jostling alongside social commentary . . . If you enjoy window-shopping other people's lives, you'll relish this staggeringly diverse array of individuals. Vincent's affection for her subject is infectious * * Telegraph * * A beautiful meditation on the overlooked history of female gardeners, tracing how women have drawn strength and power from the natural world * * i * * Alice's writing is sublime. Gentle yet certain, warm yet fierce. Why Women Grow is an exquisite exploration of our many womanhoods and the reasons why some of us find our steadiness and solace in our relationship to the earth. I adored it -- CLAIRE RATINON, author of UNEARTHED One of those rare and special books that reminds you why, especially during trying times, you might suddenly find more joy in caring for a plant, or seeing the turn of Spring. Highly recommended! -- EMMA GANNON Beautifully written * * Independent * *