Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden
Product ID: 626228421
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A “heartfelt and thoroughly enriching” (Aimee Nezhukumatathil, New York Times bestselling author of World of Wonders ) work that expands on how we talk about the natural world and the environment as National Book Critics Circle finalist Camille T. Dungy diversifies her garden to reflect her heritage. In Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden poet and scholar Camille T. Dungy recounts the seven-year odyssey to diversify her garden in the predominantly white community of Fort Collins, Colorado. When she moved there in 2013, with her husband and daughter, the community held strict restrictions about what residents could and could not plant in their gardens. In resistance to the homogenous policies that limited the possibility and wonder that grows from the earth, Dungy employs the various plants, herbs, vegetables, and flowers she grows in her garden as metaphor and treatise for how homogeneity threatens the future of our planet, and why cultivating diverse and intersectional language in our national discourse about the environment is the best means of protecting it. “Brilliant and beautiful” (Ross Gay, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Delights ), Soil functions as the nexus of nature writing, environmental justice, and prose to encourage you to recognize the relationship between the people of the African diaspora and the land on which they live, and to understand that wherever soil rests beneath their feet is home. Review: A heartfelt Journey - I found it very engaging to not only learn about her garden journey from no gardens to a lush, wild yard. I also learned more about how a black person gets treated, and I ached for some of the insults, slights and undeserved hurts that she experienced. Just as a man can never fully understand the daily fears and misogyny that women experience, I, as a white woman, cannot fully appreciate the toll of racism. This story gave me some more understanding. The descriptions of plants, insects and critters are delightful. Reading this was an enlightening journey for me too. Review: Beautifully written - Love this story. Living in FoCo, I can relate to the author’s journey. Highly recommend.
| Best Sellers Rank | #76,727 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #5 in West Region Gardening (Books) #32 in Flowers in Biological Sciences #272 in Black & African American Biographies |
| Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 251 Reviews |
C**N
A heartfelt Journey
I found it very engaging to not only learn about her garden journey from no gardens to a lush, wild yard. I also learned more about how a black person gets treated, and I ached for some of the insults, slights and undeserved hurts that she experienced. Just as a man can never fully understand the daily fears and misogyny that women experience, I, as a white woman, cannot fully appreciate the toll of racism. This story gave me some more understanding. The descriptions of plants, insects and critters are delightful. Reading this was an enlightening journey for me too.
N**M
Beautifully written
Love this story. Living in FoCo, I can relate to the author’s journey. Highly recommend.
J**S
A beautiful story of the intersections between motherhood, friendship, and career.
I couldn’t put this book down. Camille T. Dungy put into words the unspoken invisibility of my journey as a female academic and the unresolved feelings that remain from raising kids, working, and taking care of myself during COVID.
A**H
Connecting Roots of Nature and Humans
I believe God is in all things, and all things are in God. Camille T. Dungy connects all things to nature and nature to all things. I had to reread many parts of the book because you can get lost in the flow, however over time it actually felt like life as it was, as it is, and as it may be. Thank you for the amazing tour of your garden, on the surface and at the level of the seed and roots.
H**R
Amazing! Important messages about environmental & social justice, parenting and life!
This book was life changing for me. I picked it up because I’m a Colorado resident working hard to change my landscape from grass to native plants. But Camille Dungy’s messages about the larger environmental impact of the choices we make for our yards deeply impacted me. The incredible way she wove together gardening, environmentalism, social justice, history, relationships, parenting and poetry magically connected parts of my life and passions I have which I had long been compartmentalizing. I highly recommend this book for everyone!
C**R
Must Read!
This is a terrific book, digging deeply into the soil which nurtures us all, and the cultures that it has nurtured. A striking, powerful, black woman's voice in a largely white ecosystem. Striking!
M**A
Very thought provoking and insightful
Camille Dungy shares an intimate view into her family’s life. She presents how our society’s evolution continues oppressing so many facets of life from systemic racism to crippling mono culture in our communities. An excellent read!
H**P
Not like her gorgeous poetry
Having loved her poetry, and being a nature writer myself, I purchased this memoir with excitement. I enjoyed her intimate appreciation of her husband and the clear comparisons between growing a garden and a marriage, and of course their commitment to supporting our pollinator kin, but that’s where it ended for me. A dry account of a person seeking to connect with the natural world, and I couldn’t get into it beyond the first couple of chapters. Perhaps a good read for those who weren’t raised/didn’t have the opportunity to connect with the splendor and wonder of the wild, undomesticated, non human natural world or those who also have moved to a new place and are seeking to build a garden, and commune deeply with place, for the first time.
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