Review
Bernstein provides an introduction to the world's oldest living teacher-Nature herself.... The personal anecdotes describe her shifts in perspective as she learns about herself through interaction with the land. The land becomes spiritual guide and mentor, leading her beyond grief and toward a reconnection with life and creativity. The answers she found, and the power and simplicity of her story, make this book a deeply moving and heartening story. -- Noetic Sciences Review
Growing Season celebrates the healing power of gardening and cooking to nourish both body and soul -- Alice Waters, author and owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant
Growing Season will be sure to speak to anyone in the midst of change-especially difficult change-whether it be the death of a loved one, a job transition, a major move, or any other life shift. With its down-to-earth, conversational tone and simple, elegant prose, this remarkable book offers a realistic approach to handling grief and change that will be accessible to all types of readers. -- The Flowerlover magazine
Her book...draws readers close first to her grief of consecutively losing three children and then to her journey of a life regained through the rhythms of working a vineyard and garden. -- Wild Duck Review
In this book-a beautifully described account of her healing journey--Arlene writes about how her garden taught her to observe simply "what is" without judgment and to live life as active imagination.... Ultimately Ms. Bernstein learns-and shows us-how to transform our tragedies into opportunities for celebrating the joys of life. -- The Bodhi Tree Quarterly
Over 175 pages Bernstein entrusts herself to the readers, with whom she shares the intimacy of grief, the darkness of self-doubt, the fear and anger that strains her marriage to her husband, Michael, and the journey of awareness and renewal.... What she discovered in the land was sound sense, a native shrewdness. The life that sprung from the earth taught her how to live wisely.... The book is both a voyage through grief and a tribute to humble lives. -- The Napa Valley Register
This meditative book illustrates the truth of the Spanish proverb: "More in the garden grows than what the gardener sows."...The simplicity and sacredness of [Bernstein's] experience helped heal her broken heart and set her on a path of personal transformation. Nature can be a wise spiritual teacher. -- Body Mind Spirit
This true story is too delicate, too fine-tuned for those looking for a fast, exciting read. Rather, Growing Season is a book to be sampled in minute doses and should be read in view of a garden, an orchard, anything capable of growth. -- Focus on Women
With its mysterious ways of growing and dying and not-growing, the earth is our best teacher, as Arlene Bernstein discovers quite naturally and writes about with beautiful candor. You can feel the cool climate and moist soil, natural and emotional in Growing Season, and you can trust its melancholic loyalty to the rhythms of loss and blessing that make the earthly music of human lives. I recommend it in the same spirit that I would suggest making soup from your own garden. -- Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul, Soul Mates and Meditations
From the Publisher
But there is also an internal story. In Growing Season, how they transformed the land is just the background. The deeper story is how the land transformed them with renewed creativity and spiritual unfolding after painful loss (Arlene and Michael lost three children at the beginning of their marriage) and lingering grief.
In A Growing Season Arlene writes about how her garden taught her to observe simply "what is" without judgment and to live life as an active meditation. Her journey transforms grief into self renewal as she discovers the power of meditative attention. Through a series of remarkable insights she discovers that what we most need is usually right in front of us-if only we see it differently. Her asparagus speaks to her about living in the moment with patience and trust; a gopher teaches her to change her attitude; a toad teaches about harmony; an encounter with tomato hornworms teaches her compassion and self-forgiveness. As she begins to feel grounded in the earth beneath her feet, she witnesses inner obstacles and challenges transform into opportunities for celebrating the simplicity and joys of life.
In Growing Season Arlene Bernstein encourages readers to cultivate their garden-whatever their garden may be. As her story unfolds, she encourages readers to discover their deepest creative power by paying attention to nature's lessons and meeting change with an open heart. Growing Season will speak to anyone in the midst of change-especially difficult change-or seeking a deeper understanding and connection to life.
