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In Seed to Dust, Marc takes us month-by-month through his experiences both working in the garden and outside it. We encounter new plants and wildlife, gardening folklore and the joys of manual work; we learn, too, about Marc's path from homelessness to family contentment, and the cycles of change that run through both the garden's life and our own.  'An absorbing combination of memoir, gardening folklore and natural history' Country Life  'Life-affirming... 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Although common, moles are mysterious: their habits are inscrutable, they are anatomically bizarre, and they live completely alone. Marc Hamer has come closer to them than most, both through his long working life out in the Welsh countryside, and his experiences of rural homelessness as a boy.   Over the years, Marc has learned a great deal about these small, velvet creatures who live in the dark beneath us, and the myths that surround them, and his work has also led him to a wise and uplifting acceptance of the inevitable changes that we all face. In this beautiful and meditative book, Marc tells his story and explores what moles, and a life in nature, can tell us about our own humanity and our search for contentment.  How to Catch a Mole is a gem of nature writing, beautifully illustrated by Joe McLaren, which celebrates living peacefully and finding wonder in the world around us.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49531081326865,"sku":"GOR009703422","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49642793402641,"sku":"GOR010269090","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50278456131857,"sku":"GOR009851953","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50492303606033,"sku":"CIN1787301249G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51330620227857,"sku":"CIN1787301249VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51733611643153,"sku":"GOR011552308","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1787301249.jpg?v=1751410841"},{"product_id":"life-in-nature-book-marc-hamer-9781784709938","title":"A Life in Nature","description":"A captivating, life-affirming memoir of a life in nature that celebrates finding wonder in our world.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49531753562385,"sku":"GOR010977020","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49613161562385,"sku":"GOR012103241","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49735506526481,"sku":"NGR9781784709938","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51324390637841,"sku":"CIN178470993XVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52083284672785,"sku":"GOR011190250","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/178470993X.jpg?v=1750766240"},{"product_id":"seed-to-dust-book-marc-hamer-9781787302068","title":"Seed to Dust","description":"*SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE 2021*  'A wholly original, semi-autobiographical book on how to live, how to be calm and content with only a little, in a quietly humming garden' Daily Mail  Beautifully illustrated, Seed to Dust is a reflective and restorative account of a life lived in harmony with nature.   Any garden belongs to everyone who sees it - it is like a book and everybody who visits it will find different things.  Marc Hamer has designed and nurtured 12 acres of garden for over two decades. It is rarely visited so he is the only person who fully knows its secrets; but it is not his own. His relationship with the garden's owner is both distant and curiously intimate, steeped in the mysterious connection which exists between two people who inhabit the same space in very different ways.  In this life-enhancing book Marc takes us month-by-month through his experiences both working in the garden and outside it, as the seasons' changes bring new plants and wildlife to the fore and lead him to reflect on his past and future. Through his peaceful and meditative prose we learn about gardening folklore and wisdom, the joys of manual labour, his path from solitary homelessness to family contentment and the cycle of growth and decay that runs through both the garden's life and our own.  You've seen gates like that at the side of the road, you've wondered what's behind them. They really are the entrance to the wonders you imagined.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49552124576017,"sku":"GOR013448570","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49980028879121,"sku":"GOR012935274","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50013078290705,"sku":"GOR011118490","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50904041914641,"sku":"GOR011659354","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1787302067.jpg?v=1751025854"},{"product_id":"spring-rain-book-marc-hamer-9781787303317","title":"Spring Rain","description":"'Infused with wisdom and a deep love of nature... a how-to book for finding peace of mind' Saga  This is a story about the rain, a boy, an angry dog and a gardener, and how some of them find peace and freedom...  In Spring Rain, writer and gardener Marc Hamer shares his path from difficult beginnings to contentment, by way of family gardens.  As a young boy in a violent home, Marc found refuge in his small back garden. Here he kindled a lifelong love of nature and learning by observing the plants and insects in his private kingdom and reading the old encyclopaedias he found in the shed.  Marc has always found the answers to life's questions in the natural world, whether as a child watching ants, as a young man living rough in the countryside, or as a professional gardener creating places of calm and restoration for others. Now in his sixties, he is finally creating a garden for himself, at his home in Cardiff. In this beautiful and moving memoir, he considers what he has learned, from the spring of youth to his autumn years, and reflects on how we reconcile our childhoods with where we end up.  With line drawings by the author, Spring Rain encourages us back in tune with the natural world and offers both consolation and a guide to a happier life.  PRAISE FOR MARC HAMER:  'Wisdom...patterned with Hamer's gifts for observation, compression, and tone' New Yorker  'A sublime meditation on life, love, nature and family, woven with the wisdom of age gained through a life well lived' Lee Schofield, author of Wild Fell  'Wholly original... on how to live, how to be calm and content with only a little, in a quietly humming garden' Daily Mail","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49669178196241,"sku":"GOR012899420","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50319171846417,"sku":"GOR012915137","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":50698309665041,"sku":"NGR9781787303317","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51149540557073,"sku":"GOR014186658","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51681731379473,"sku":"GOR013442279","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1787303314.jpg?v=1750801710"},{"product_id":"spring-rain-book-marc-hamer-9781529920482","title":"Spring Rain","description":"An inspiring and life-affirming story of a difficult childhood transformed into happy adulthood through the power of nature and gardens  Beloved author Marc Hamer writes about finding refuge in his tiny back garden in this highly original story of childhood, old age, and the restorative power of gardens. As a child, he kindled a deep love of the earth by watching plants and insects and exploring the world through a stack of old encyclopaedias he found in the shed. Now an old man, he creates a garden for himself in the neglected plot behind his house.  A little book with a big heart: the insights glow as vivid as a flowerbed. If you want to be inspired, or you've lost your belief in the goodness of this world, this could be for you.  'A sublime meditation on life, love, nature and family, woven with the wisdom gained through a life well lived' Lee Schofield, author of Wild Fell  'Patterned with Hamer's gifts for observation, compression, and tone' New Yorker  'Rich and tender' New York Times  'A book of great but tender power' Charles Foster, author of Being a Beast","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49751521820945,"sku":"NGR9781529920482","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49758268555537,"sku":"GOR013586421","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51611503231249,"sku":"GOR014344860","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52388515610897,"sku":"GOR013583708","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52843489100049,"sku":"GOR014638038","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1529920485.jpg?v=1751341136"},{"product_id":"how-to-catch-a-mole-book-marc-hamer-9781771649940","title":"How to Catch a Mole","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eIn this evocative and heart-wrenching memoir, a hard-working Welsh molecatcher reveals his double life as a poet and a dreamer * \"A wonderful memoir ... hands down the most charming book I read last year.\"--Margaret Renkl, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eHow to Catch a Mole\u003c\/i\u003e is a small book of many things. In quiet, crystalline prose, it blends memoir, keen observations of nature, and ruminations about life, aging and death.\"\u003ci\u003e--Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Kneeling in a muddy field in the Welsh countryside, clutching a creature that is soft and blue-black, Marc Hamer vows he will stop trapping moles--forever. In this earnest, understated, and sublime work of literary memoir, the molecatcher shares what led him to this strange career and what caused him to stop: from sleeping among hedges as a homeless teen, to toiling on the railway, to weeding windswept gardens in Wales and witnessing the beauty of every living thing.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Hamer infuses his wanderings with radiant poetry and stark, simple observations on nature's oft-ignored details. He also reveals how to catch a mole--a craft long kept secret by its masters--and burrows into the unusual lives of his muses. Moles, we learn, are colorblind. Their blood holds unusual amounts of carbon dioxide. Their vast tunnel networks are intricate and deceptive. And, like Hamer, they work alone.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Beautifully written, life-affirming, and highly original, \u003ci\u003eHow to Catch a Mole\u003c\/i\u003e offers a gorgeous portrait of one man's deep, unbreakable bond with his natural surroundings, and offers hope and inspiration for anyone looking to improve their relationship with the natural world.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49884718924049,"sku":"CIN1771649941VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50042914013457,"sku":"CIN1771649941G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51051892474129,"sku":"NIN9781771649940","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1771649941.jpg?v=1751279360"},{"product_id":"seed-to-dust-book-marc-hamer-9781771647687","title":"Seed to Dust","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eFor readers of \u003ci\u003eLate Migrations\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eH is for Hawk\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eA stunning meditation on gardening and the wisdom of plants, \" that rare book that will appeal to nonfiction readers everywhere. . . Candid, tender, thoughtful and absorbing.\"--\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e (STARRED Review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"With chapters. . . [that] shimmer like lantern slides, lit with luminous imagery. . . \u003ci\u003eSeed to Dust\u003c\/i\u003e is an invitation to read this world as Mr. Hamer does--with a close eye to what changes, and what does not.\"\u003ci\u003e--The Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Marc Hamer has nurtured the same 12-acre garden in the Welsh countryside for over two decades. The garden is vast and intricate. It's rarely visited, and only Hamer knows of its secrets. But it's not his garden. It belongs to his wealthy and elegant employer, Miss Cashmere. But the garden does not really belong to her, either. 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At the book's end, Hamer's connection to Miss Cashmere changes shape, and new insights into relationships and the beauty and brutality of nature emerge.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eJust like all good books and gardens, \u003ci\u003eSeed to Dust\u003c\/i\u003e is filled with equal parts life and death, beauty and decay, and every reader will find something different to admire.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49890104705297,"sku":"CIN177164768XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50000112746769,"sku":"GOR013833060","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50390987735313,"sku":"CIN177164768XA","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50960402022673,"sku":"CIN177164768XVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/177164768X.jpg?v=1750832483"},{"product_id":"how-to-catch-a-mole-book-marc-hamer-9781771644792","title":"How to Catch a Mole","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eIn this evocative and heart-wrenching memoir, a hard-working Welsh molecatcher reveals his double life as a poet and a dreamer * \"A wonderful memoir ... hands down the most charming book I read last year.\"--Margaret Renkl, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eHow to Catch a Mole\u003c\/i\u003e is a small book of many things. 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Best enjoyed in a single sitting under the shade of a tree, this inventive and curative book captures the moment when an adventurous young boy who traveled the world in his mind meets the old man he becomes. Together, they build a new garden from a neglected plot behind his house on the edge of town.  Retired professional gardener Marc Hamer has always found the answers to life's questions in the natural world, whether as a child watching ants, as a young man living homeless in the countryside, or as a professional gardener creating places of calm and restoration for others. Now in his sixties, he is finally creating a garden for himself, at his home in Cardiff, Wales. This moving memoir follows his process as he shares what he’s learned, from the spring of youth to his autumn years, and reflects on how we reconcile our childhoods with where we end up.  In Hamer’s own words, “Spring Rain is about the joy of your own back garden. It is a story about the joy of small things, the world in a grain of sand, a universe in a small garden, with love for all the insects and slugs and flowers and weeds and seeds and roots and boundaries and shade and weather that the garden contains.”","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50134951821585,"sku":"CIN1778400272G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50400397689105,"sku":"CIN1778400272VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51051936153873,"sku":"NIN9781778400278","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1778400272.jpg?v=1763119141"},{"product_id":"seed-to-dust-book-marc-hamer-9781778401800","title":"Seed to Dust","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eFor readers of \u003ci\u003eLate Migrations\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eH is for Hawk\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eA stunning meditation on gardening and the wisdom of plants, \" that rare book that will appeal to nonfiction readers everywhere. . . Candid, tender, thoughtful and absorbing.\"--\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e (STARRED Review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"With chapters. . . [that] shimmer like lantern slides, lit with luminous imagery. . . \u003ci\u003eSeed to Dust\u003c\/i\u003e is an invitation to read this world as Mr. Hamer does--with a close eye to what changes, and what does not.\"\u003ci\u003e--The Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Marc Hamer has nurtured the same 12-acre garden in the Welsh countryside for over two decades. The garden is vast and intricate. It's rarely visited, and only Hamer knows of its secrets. But it's not his garden. It belongs to his wealthy and elegant employer, Miss Cashmere. But the garden does not really belong to her, either. As Hamer writes, \"Like a book, a garden belongs to everyone who sees it.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In \u003ci\u003eSeed to Dust,\u003c\/i\u003e Marc Hamer paints a beautiful portrait of the garden that \"belongs to everyone.\" He describes a year in his life as a country gardener, with each chapter named for the month he's in. As he works, he muses on the unusual folklores of his beloved plants. He observes the creatures who scurry and hide from his blade or rake. And he reflects on his own life: living homeless as a young man, his loving relationship with his wife and children, and--now--feeling the effects of old age on body and mind.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e As the seasons change, Hamer also reflects on the changes he has observed in Miss Cashmere's life from afar: the death of her husband and the departure of her children from the stately home where she now lives alone. At the book's end, Hamer's connection to Miss Cashmere changes shape, and new insights into relationships and the beauty and brutality of nature emerge.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eJust like all good books and gardens, \u003ci\u003eSeed to Dust\u003c\/i\u003e is filled with equal parts life and death, beauty and decay, and every reader will find something different to admire.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50953452192017,"sku":"CIN1778401805VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51051105583377,"sku":"NIN9781778401800","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1778401805.jpg?v=1750929411"},{"product_id":"spring-rain-book-marc-hamer-9781778402760","title":"Spring Rain","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"Marc Hamer knows how to live--simply, sparely, reverently, abundantly. \u003ci\u003eSpring Rain\u003c\/i\u003e is a tonic for the soul.\"--Sy Montgomery, author of \u003ci\u003eHow to Be A Good Creature\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eFrom the beloved author of \u003ci\u003eHow to Catch a Mole\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eSeed to Dust\u003c\/i\u003e comes a highly original memoir of childhood, old age, and the restorative power of gardens.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Best enjoyed in a single sitting under the shade of a tree, this inventive and curative book captures the moment when an adventurous young boy who traveled the world in his mind meets the old man he becomes. Together, they build a new garden from a neglected plot behind his house on the edge of town.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Retired professional gardener Marc Hamer has always found the answers to life's questions in the natural world, whether as a child watching ants, as a young man living homeless in the countryside, or as a professional gardener creating places of calm and restoration for others. Now in his sixties, he is finally creating a garden for himself, at his home in Cardiff, Wales. This moving memoir follows his process as he shares what he's learned, from the spring of youth to his autumn years, and reflects on how we reconcile our childhoods with where we end up.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In Hamer's own words, \"\u003ci\u003eSpring Rain\u003c\/i\u003e is about the joy of your own back garden. It is a story about the joy of small things, the world in a grain of sand, a universe in a small garden, with love for all the insects and slugs and flowers and weeds and seeds and roots and boundaries and shade and weather that the garden contains.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53261770850577,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53261770883345,"sku":"NIN9781778402760","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781778402760.jpg?v=1773781943"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-marc-hamer.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}