Winner of the Nan Shepherd Prize, this lyrical book moves between Trinidad and an idyllic English country garden as it grapples with big questions about what we call home
What is home? It's a question that has troubled Marchelle Farrell for her entire life. Years ago she left Trinidad and now, uprooted once again, she heads to the peaceful English countryside - the only Black woman in her village.
Drawn to her new garden, Marchelle begins to examine the complex and emotional question of home in the context of colonialism. As her relationship with the garden deepens, she discovers that her two conflicting identities are far more intertwined than she had realised. Full of hope and healing,Uprootingis a book about finding home where we least expect it, and which invites us to reconnect to the land - and ourselves.
GB
Marchelle Farrellis a therapist, writer and amateur gardener. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, she has spent the last twenty years attempting to become hardy in the UK. She has trained and worked as a consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist. When not neglecting it for the care of her young children, or her work in the community, Marchelle spends much of her time getting to know her country garden in Somerset and writing about the things the garden teaches her about herself. Her debutUprootingwon the Nan Shepherd Prize.
@afroliage | marchellefarrell.com
A beautiful memoir that shows how gardens can be a place to plant our most troubled feelings, to put down roots and to find peace A tender book, raw in some parts . . . Farrell generously shows the reader the value of openness, considering what we have to learn from other people and species Glistening . . . This book will change how we speak of gardens, land and identity in myriad ways. An exquisite love letter [and] a rallying call
Uprootingis a potent hymn to the importance of home and a deeply thoughtful offering on what our gardens cal`