Garden Voices: Stories of Women & Their Gardens [Paperback]

Carolyn Freas Rapp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2005

Garden Voices is a collection of 12 distinctly different stories that explore the relationship of women with their gardens. Susan's garden led her from breast cancer back to health. Carol finds inspiration for her watercolors. Francie's garden transports her back in time to Elizabethan England, while Judy's nourishes her friendships. This is not just a book for people who love gardens; it's for people who love stories. Everyone who reads Garden Voices will hear a whisper of themselves in the words of these creative, courageous, wise women. GAR000000

Editorial Reviews

Review

Garden Voice presents a dozen tales about heartache and triumph set within plots of lovingly cultivated land. While many outcomes of gardening are visible and tangible, these pages reveal the rewards of delving in the soil; daily wonders, gradual discoveries, and life-changing epiphanies. --Virginia Small, Senior Editor, Fine Gardening magazine

A series of vignettes done in an oral history style similar to Stud Terkel's ... the seamless narratives capture each subject's personality and views. Rapp introduces each woman briefly, tells how they met, then lets the women state in their own words how gardening enhances their lives. The stories are life-affirming, funny and edifying. --Brian Trompeter, Sun Gazette Newspapers

Don't be swayed by the title to think this is a book of interest only to female readers. It has something for all gardeners, including tips, facts linking gardening with history, and most of all stories that inspire. --Dr. Richard Churchill, People, Places & Plants magazine --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Carolyn Rapp is a writer, storyteller, and mother of three grown children. When she is not at her computer or on stage, she can usually be found digging, dividing, and devising new but largely unsuccessful ways to prevent munching deer from crashing her garden party. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 154 pages
• Publisher: Water Dance Press (February 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0975889133
• ISBN-13: 978-0975889138
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,453,915 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soulful Storytelling from the Spiritual Side of Gardening, February 21, 2005

By 

James Barnes (Traverse City, MI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Garden Voices: Stories of Women & Their Gardens (Paperback)

When you think of a garden, what comes to your mind? Is it the vibrant colors of dahlias, zinnias, cosmos, and sunflowers? Or perhaps it's the luscious array of home grown vegetables just crying out to be harvested and cooked into something savory? Or, maybe it's the physical and spiritual cleansing that accompanies this sometimes arduous yet highly rewarding hobby...

Ask author Carolyn Rapp what she thinks about gardens and you will likely discover many new meanings behind this simple but paradoxically complex activity. Rapp, a seasoned storyteller and gardener herself, was "seized with a compelling urge to dig in the earth and grow things" when her son went away to college. Twelve years have since passed and Rapp has learned much more about gardening than she ever expected, from twelve unique women who not only opened the gates to their gardens -- but also to their lives.

Here are twelve inspiring stories from women who have built their lives around their gardens. From Sue's stone garden we learn how the physical nature of gardening helped her realize an innermost strength that helped her fight breast cancer. Through the lens of Michiko's camera we see ordinary vegetables transformed to images of passion and beauty. And, from Nancy, we learn how a garden can be a metaphor for marriage.

The stories from these twelve women not only provide tips and tricks for gardening but also dig down to a deeper more soulful layer -- a layer beyond what is visible in the dirt. As spiritually fulfilling as a beautiful bouquet or a colorful harvest of vegetables, these stories will resonate in the minds and hearts of all gardeners.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful and Inspiring, April 1, 2005

By 

emb "devour of books" (Ely, Minn.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Garden Voices: Stories of Women & Their Gardens (Paperback)

My book group chose this book and it led to a rich discussion of what gardens mean in each of our lives. It is extremely well-written and each reader related to a different story. Our group usually reads fiction, and this book offered the opportunity for a refreshing change.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Digging In The Dirt, March 31, 2005

By 

M. Hanewall - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Garden Voices: Stories of Women & Their Gardens (Paperback)

I'm vindicated. Thanks to GARDEN VOICES, there's a story to my passion to dig in the dirt. I found myself in the gardens of the women in GARDEN VOICES...and thoroughly enjoyed their company!
What a great gift for myself, for my friends.