A Handful of Earth by Barney Bardsley

A Handful of Earth by Barney Bardsley

When Barney Bardsley's husband was diagnosed with cancer he was thirty-six, and their daughter just one. The family was too young for sell-by dates - there was too much to live for. And so they did. But when he finally died, Barney felt alone and exhausted. Their savings had all gone and now she must support their child single-handedly. She would just have to take life one day at a time. She took to tending her small, scruffy allotment. Fresh air, wildlife, exercise, nature's cycles of growth and decay - she found solace in it all. This is the diary of her year in the garden. It begins with January's brisk walks, nourishing soups, and dreams of spring. In May comes a messy abundance of bluebells, tadpoles, and honeybees. In summer the sunflowers shout. And in autumn comes a harvest of blackberries, beans and squash. The garden's meditative atmosphere also provokes deeper musings. Barney recounts the myths and emotions associated with particular plants; she paints memories of childhood; she evokes the changes of mood as the seasons shift. Above all, she charts how her own life is slowly restored, under the garden's healing influence.

'She writes by turns movingly and humorously, but always beautifully.. gloriously uplifting' * Sunday Telegraph *
'Profoundly moving' * Daily Telegraph *
'Tender but resolutely unsentimental ... a grittily wise testament to life' * Financial Times *

Barney Elizabeth Bardsley took a degree in languages at Hull University in 1979. Throughout the 1980s she worked in London as a freelance arts journalist, and for two years was books and arts editor for the Tribune newspaper. Her first book, Flowers in Hell, about women and crime, was published by Pandora Press in 1986. She then trained in T`ai Chi, and as a dancer, and taught movement skills to actors in London and Hungary. From 1994 to 2004 she looked after her husband Tim, during his long struggle with cancer. She now lives in Leeds - with her daughter, Molly, and dog, Muffin - teaches T`ai Chi and writes. All her spare time is devoted to her unruly garden and allotment.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780719596100
ISBN 10	0719596106
Title	A Handful of Earth
Author	Barney Bardsley
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	John Murray Press
Year published	2008-01-24
Number of pages	288
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.