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All My Wild Mothers: Motherhood, Loss and an Apothecary Garden
An intimate weaving of memoir and herbal folklore, All My Wild Mothers is a story of rewilding our wastelands and the transformation that can happen when we do.
At seven months pregnant, Victoria Bennett was looking forward to new motherhood and all that was to come. But when the telephone rang one day, the news she received changed everything: Her eldest sister had died in a canoeing accident.
Five years later, struggling with grief, the demands of being a parent-carer for her young son, and the impact of deeper austerity, life feels very different from the future she had imagined. But a move to a new social housing estate in rural Cumbria offers Victoria and her family a chance to rebuild their lives.
Constructed over an industrial site, the estate seems an unlikely place to sow the seeds of a new life, but she and her son transform the rubble around them into a wild apothecary garden. Daisy for resilience. Dandelion for strength against adversity. Red campion to ward off loneliness. Sow thistle to lift melancholy. Borage to bring hope in dark and difficult times. Stone by stone, seed by seed, All My Wild Mothers is the story of how sometimes life grows not in spite of what is broken but because of it.
At seven months pregnant, Victoria Bennett was looking forward to new motherhood and all that was to come. But when the telephone rang one day, the news she received changed everything: Her eldest sister had died in a canoeing accident.
Five years later, struggling with grief, the demands of being a parent-carer for her young son, and the impact of deeper austerity, life feels very different from the future she had imagined. But a move to a new social housing estate in rural Cumbria offers Victoria and her family a chance to rebuild their lives.
Constructed over an industrial site, the estate seems an unlikely place to sow the seeds of a new life, but she and her son transform the rubble around them into a wild apothecary garden. Daisy for resilience. Dandelion for strength against adversity. Red campion to ward off loneliness. Sow thistle to lift melancholy. Borage to bring hope in dark and difficult times. Stone by stone, seed by seed, All My Wild Mothers is the story of how sometimes life grows not in spite of what is broken but because of it.
397 pages, Hardcover
Published February 2, 2023
24 people are currently reading
607 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
January 29, 2023
I loved this book, how it had a solid structure - each chapter beginning with a different plant, beginning with the intriguing medieval and somewhat magical perception of it, a simple black & white engraving, the medicinal properties, a bit of folklore and where it might be found - and then there followed a kind of meandering through events and memories from the author's life, that often ventured off from an aspect of that plants curative powers.
The book begins at a moment in her life when there is an unexpected death in the family, so grief and coping with it, learning how to manage its lingering presence, plays a significant role in what follows.
At the time of this initial event, she is pregnant with her first child, as the story continues her son becomes as much a part of the narrative as the author herself.
It is also a reflection on motherhood, of one woman's experience, given her own inclinations, personality and the effect of being the youngest in a family of six children.
It is sensitively narrated, introspective and a tribute in particular to her sisters and her mother and a celebration of her son, for all that he teaches her, that he reflects back to her, due to the way she parents him and the way he in turn reminds her what it is to be a child, the gifts they offer having been nurtured, loved and allowed to grow into themselves authentically. He is a less conditioned mini human than most and Bennett's articulate expression and capturing of his innocent yet profound utterances are a gift to all who read her prose.
Children can teach and remind us of so much that is simple and good in life, sadly conditioned out of us by the effect of a societal system that squashes it before it can have a chance to flourish.
In the same way that Bennett and her son create an apothecary garden in their backyard, a construction of permaculture beauty, an appreciation of nature, an alternative education - yet encounter resistance,judgement, complaint and obstacle as subscribers to that more authoritarian rule attempt to oppress or stamp out their initiative, unable to see the bigger picture of a more sustainable, kinder way of living in the shared world we inhabit.
Absolutely loved this quiet book, that celebrates the wisdom of small children, nurtured through the early years and the symbiosis of mother and child.
Highly Recommended.
The book begins at a moment in her life when there is an unexpected death in the family, so grief and coping with it, learning how to manage its lingering presence, plays a significant role in what follows.
At the time of this initial event, she is pregnant with her first child, as the story continues her son becomes as much a part of the narrative as the author herself.
It is also a reflection on motherhood, of one woman's experience, given her own inclinations, personality and the effect of being the youngest in a family of six children.
It is sensitively narrated, introspective and a tribute in particular to her sisters and her mother and a celebration of her son, for all that he teaches her, that he reflects back to her, due to the way she parents him and the way he in turn reminds her what it is to be a child, the gifts they offer having been nurtured, loved and allowed to grow into themselves authentically. He is a less conditioned mini human than most and Bennett's articulate expression and capturing of his innocent yet profound utterances are a gift to all who read her prose.
Children can teach and remind us of so much that is simple and good in life, sadly conditioned out of us by the effect of a societal system that squashes it before it can have a chance to flourish.
In the same way that Bennett and her son create an apothecary garden in their backyard, a construction of permaculture beauty, an appreciation of nature, an alternative education - yet encounter resistance,judgement, complaint and obstacle as subscribers to that more authoritarian rule attempt to oppress or stamp out their initiative, unable to see the bigger picture of a more sustainable, kinder way of living in the shared world we inhabit.
Absolutely loved this quiet book, that celebrates the wisdom of small children, nurtured through the early years and the symbiosis of mother and child.
Highly Recommended.
January 27, 2023
I adored this book. It blew my mind that out of something so sad, something so hopeful was born. There is a real sense of the need for patience and time in this writing, and a willingness to find beauty and healing in the tiniest seemingly most unpromising places. It’s gorgeous, generous writing with real heart, a strong sense of place and joy.
January 11, 2024
A memoir of plants and grief.
All My Wild Mothers is an astounding book. It’s as unlike a conventional memoir as can be possible and yet it provides the most perfect insight into the life and character of Victoria Bennett.
The prose is simply beautiful. Weaving the past into a clear chronology as Victoria Bennett and her son create a wasteland garden, All My Wild Mothers is rich with detail, technicolour in vivid description and yet equally pared down and concise so that simple sentences convey the deepest emotions. Every sense is here between the pages of All My Wild Mothers, but somehow there isn’t a jarring note or an extraneous syllable to snag the profound and sensitive writing. It is as if Victoria Bennett has laid herself bare with exquisite skill and honesty.
All My Wild Mothers might initially be an intimate and affecting exploration of Victoria Bennett’s personal grief over lost children and her sister’s accidental death, and later, her mother’s passing, but it also has a universal quality too. The wonderful drawings, the botanical references and the iterative metaphor of the ability of both nature and humankind to rewild and regenerate all add up into a book that is felt every bit as much as it is read.
Consequently, as well as raw grief there are so many identifiable and relatable situations and emotions here, from frustration to anger but equally there is hope, and deep, deep love – especially in the author’s relationship with her son. As a result All My wild Mothers gives the reader permission to identify and accept their own feelings and to understand themselves better even as they understand the author completely.
To any one of us who has lived, or grieved, or planted a seed or admired the tenacity of weeds, All My Wild Mothers is a siren call of hope. Reading it gives a sense of belonging, an understanding not only of the adaptability and resilience of Nature, but of human nature. Whatever the wastelands of our past, our relationships and the difficulties of our present situations, through sharing her story Victoria Bennett shows we can not just survive, but that, like a small lost seed, we can thrive.
I thought All My Wild Mothers was a wonderful book.
All My Wild Mothers is an astounding book. It’s as unlike a conventional memoir as can be possible and yet it provides the most perfect insight into the life and character of Victoria Bennett.
The prose is simply beautiful. Weaving the past into a clear chronology as Victoria Bennett and her son create a wasteland garden, All My Wild Mothers is rich with detail, technicolour in vivid description and yet equally pared down and concise so that simple sentences convey the deepest emotions. Every sense is here between the pages of All My Wild Mothers, but somehow there isn’t a jarring note or an extraneous syllable to snag the profound and sensitive writing. It is as if Victoria Bennett has laid herself bare with exquisite skill and honesty.
All My Wild Mothers might initially be an intimate and affecting exploration of Victoria Bennett’s personal grief over lost children and her sister’s accidental death, and later, her mother’s passing, but it also has a universal quality too. The wonderful drawings, the botanical references and the iterative metaphor of the ability of both nature and humankind to rewild and regenerate all add up into a book that is felt every bit as much as it is read.
Consequently, as well as raw grief there are so many identifiable and relatable situations and emotions here, from frustration to anger but equally there is hope, and deep, deep love – especially in the author’s relationship with her son. As a result All My wild Mothers gives the reader permission to identify and accept their own feelings and to understand themselves better even as they understand the author completely.
To any one of us who has lived, or grieved, or planted a seed or admired the tenacity of weeds, All My Wild Mothers is a siren call of hope. Reading it gives a sense of belonging, an understanding not only of the adaptability and resilience of Nature, but of human nature. Whatever the wastelands of our past, our relationships and the difficulties of our present situations, through sharing her story Victoria Bennett shows we can not just survive, but that, like a small lost seed, we can thrive.
I thought All My Wild Mothers was a wonderful book.
February 22, 2023
This stark and intimate memoir begins with Victoria relaying the death of her sister, the grief that came with it, and how it shaped her life. At that time, Victoria was pregnant with her son and all the stress had an impact on her physical and emotional well-being.
This book relates some of Victoria’s most heart-breaking life experiences. She is very honest in her descriptions of how her family was affected by debt, when her son was diagnosed with diabetes and she became his carer. The love for her son shone on each page. When they moved to a house on an estate, Victoria and her son started a new venture: their own garden. As money was tight, it needed to be cheap and wild.
I absolutely loved this book. I liked how it was structured and how each chapter began with a description of a plant, its uses, and where they grow. Alkanet to lift melancholy, lemon balm to ward off evil, cow parsley to calm emotions and bring courage (Victoria needed that – she faced a lot of adversity).
I found this book poignant, beautifully written, lyrical in places. It will stay with me for a long time.
I definitely recommend it.
This book relates some of Victoria’s most heart-breaking life experiences. She is very honest in her descriptions of how her family was affected by debt, when her son was diagnosed with diabetes and she became his carer. The love for her son shone on each page. When they moved to a house on an estate, Victoria and her son started a new venture: their own garden. As money was tight, it needed to be cheap and wild.
I absolutely loved this book. I liked how it was structured and how each chapter began with a description of a plant, its uses, and where they grow. Alkanet to lift melancholy, lemon balm to ward off evil, cow parsley to calm emotions and bring courage (Victoria needed that – she faced a lot of adversity).
I found this book poignant, beautifully written, lyrical in places. It will stay with me for a long time.
I definitely recommend it.
January 26, 2023
This is a wonderful book - lyrical, tender and deeply moving. I was absolutely spellbound by it. Poetic, compelling, heartbreaking yet hopeful, it’s beautifully written and I am quite in awe of Victoria Bennett’s strength and resilience, and her determination to create something beautiful out of life’s inevitable grief and harshness. And her young son sounds like the most adorable, wise little boy.
Each chapter is named for a wild plant, or medicinal weed, its stories and healing properties, and then what follows is a recollection from Bennett's life, either in the present where she, her husband and son are trying to make a wild apothecary garden in the yard of their council estate house and having to manage her son's diabetes, the prejudice and bureaucracy one has to endure when one is dependent on the welfare system, and her elderly mother's recent terminal diagnosis; or at various points in the past where Bennett reflects on loves, losses and times of change and growth that were the seeds of the life she is now living. "In the broken ground of grief, I just wanted to see what could grow," she says in her author's note.
There are so many wonderful sentences and images in this book. These are a few of my favourites:
"Plant the seed. Find the small thing worth the gift of your hope. Whatever else comes, trust that it will grow, even if you do not see it flower."
"Life and death have no balance sheet, or fair-promise to keep. It is not luck, good or bad. It is as simple as this: sometimes, terrible things happen."
"In this one act, he has learnt that society has one rule for those who have wealth, and another those who do not."
"I did not know where I could belong. In that lonely space, I dared to ask the question: what if the thing that makes us a weed in someone else's perfect garden is the very gift that makes us shine?"
All My Wild Mothers is a deeply moving meditation on what it means to be resilient in a world that can be very unfair and what it means to carve out a space for beauty and cultivate a love of and reverence for nature when we live in a world that is all about "progress", wealth accumulation, regulations and profits.
I cannot recommend this book more highly to everyone but particularly to gardeners, mothers, poets, nature lovers and to those seeking a gentler yet wilder path.
Thank you to the author, Two Roads/John Murray Press and Netgalley for an ARC.
Each chapter is named for a wild plant, or medicinal weed, its stories and healing properties, and then what follows is a recollection from Bennett's life, either in the present where she, her husband and son are trying to make a wild apothecary garden in the yard of their council estate house and having to manage her son's diabetes, the prejudice and bureaucracy one has to endure when one is dependent on the welfare system, and her elderly mother's recent terminal diagnosis; or at various points in the past where Bennett reflects on loves, losses and times of change and growth that were the seeds of the life she is now living. "In the broken ground of grief, I just wanted to see what could grow," she says in her author's note.
There are so many wonderful sentences and images in this book. These are a few of my favourites:
"Plant the seed. Find the small thing worth the gift of your hope. Whatever else comes, trust that it will grow, even if you do not see it flower."
"Life and death have no balance sheet, or fair-promise to keep. It is not luck, good or bad. It is as simple as this: sometimes, terrible things happen."
"In this one act, he has learnt that society has one rule for those who have wealth, and another those who do not."
"I did not know where I could belong. In that lonely space, I dared to ask the question: what if the thing that makes us a weed in someone else's perfect garden is the very gift that makes us shine?"
All My Wild Mothers is a deeply moving meditation on what it means to be resilient in a world that can be very unfair and what it means to carve out a space for beauty and cultivate a love of and reverence for nature when we live in a world that is all about "progress", wealth accumulation, regulations and profits.
I cannot recommend this book more highly to everyone but particularly to gardeners, mothers, poets, nature lovers and to those seeking a gentler yet wilder path.
Thank you to the author, Two Roads/John Murray Press and Netgalley for an ARC.
January 4, 2025
This is a profound memoir, woven with interesting summaries of native apothecary garden plants - different to anything I have read before. It has taken me a very long time to work my way through the novel, as the author doesn't shy away from reflecting on dark and difficult experiences. However, this meant that I've picked up the chapters while I've experienced my own different positions on motherhood - and I've really enjoyed having this as a companion book. I will be returning to re-read this book for both the reflections and the gardening titbits!
February 3, 2023
I think that gardening and nature are the best way to heal and moving with our life. This is a story of moving but it's also the story of discovering gardening and how it can change your life.
I love the style of writing, the great setting and the poignant story. The author is an excellent storyteller.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine
I love the style of writing, the great setting and the poignant story. The author is an excellent storyteller.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine
February 4, 2023
I’ve been struggling to find the words to review this one, they’re all incoherent gibberish. I loved this book. It was full of hope, love, grief, and healing. This will have a special place in my heart forever. I was completely captivated by it and finished it with a sense of hope in my heart, sometimes even in the darkest moments of our lives we still find hope blossoming.
Thank you to John Murray Press for sending me a proof of this incredible book!
Thank you to John Murray Press for sending me a proof of this incredible book!
January 11, 2026
Beautiful, moving and lovely perspective of loss and hope. Also an amazing apothecary reference for the future.
April 15, 2024
a very moving memoir which highlights the rigid constraints imposed by jobsworths and the resistance people have to anyone trying to live a more yielding and less conventional life. I enjoyed reading about each plant/flower/weed before each entry. I hope the author has much happiness and success 🩷
July 2, 2024
Loved this book, it was so moving
August 2, 2023
A memoir that is life affirming despite the hardships that life brings.
February 23, 2025
Absolutely loved reading this book , following feeling for the author her story, her life and shared written voice. In so many ways whilst reading it I lived through and shared her pain.. as from it all , her stength and spirit built a path of light and hope . A beautiful book on many levels. Its printed form, with its decorated floral and herbal chapters , each one introduced with a herb just totally worked for me. . A book I will keep .. lend and recommend to others and read again ..Grateful it was written.
February 1, 2023
I felt a visceral connection to this breathtakingly beautiful memoir, the best I’ve ever read. Not only does the author write exquisitely and evocatively and quote from one of my favourite childhood books, ‘The Secret Garden’ by Frances Hodgson Burnett, she also has Hypermobility Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, like me.
Although grief, loss, illness and struggle are the sad backbone of this book, it is fleshed out by the joyous healing power of nature and the wild mothering it offers Bennett and her wise beyond his years son, the comfort and support of the author’s “wild women” friends, and a plethora of profound insights, such as:
“Sometimes, we try so hard to cut out the things that do not fit the idealised garden of this life – the loneliness, the loss, the struggle of it all – that we forget to see the beauty that it holds. And it is so beautiful. So, plant the seed. Find the small thing worth the gift of your hope. Whatever else comes, trust that it will grow, even if you do not see it flower.”
This memoir dances back and forth across different timelines as childhood, family problems past and present, and dealing with grief and loss are interspersed with fascinating information on apothecary wild flowers and herbs and their uses, mingled with gratitude for it all. These lines really spoke to me:
“… in the end, all we have is life, and death, and all the mundane miracles we almost miss between. Even though we weep, we must still give thanks for the moments that we have, and sing.”
This is a book to take your time with, read again and again to savour every precious sentence, delight in the dexterity of the text and the moving accounts of overcoming grief and loss, marvel at the delicious insights, and emerge wiser to life itself. Grateful thanks to John Murray Press and NetGalley for the ARC.
Although grief, loss, illness and struggle are the sad backbone of this book, it is fleshed out by the joyous healing power of nature and the wild mothering it offers Bennett and her wise beyond his years son, the comfort and support of the author’s “wild women” friends, and a plethora of profound insights, such as:
“Sometimes, we try so hard to cut out the things that do not fit the idealised garden of this life – the loneliness, the loss, the struggle of it all – that we forget to see the beauty that it holds. And it is so beautiful. So, plant the seed. Find the small thing worth the gift of your hope. Whatever else comes, trust that it will grow, even if you do not see it flower.”
This memoir dances back and forth across different timelines as childhood, family problems past and present, and dealing with grief and loss are interspersed with fascinating information on apothecary wild flowers and herbs and their uses, mingled with gratitude for it all. These lines really spoke to me:
“… in the end, all we have is life, and death, and all the mundane miracles we almost miss between. Even though we weep, we must still give thanks for the moments that we have, and sing.”
This is a book to take your time with, read again and again to savour every precious sentence, delight in the dexterity of the text and the moving accounts of overcoming grief and loss, marvel at the delicious insights, and emerge wiser to life itself. Grateful thanks to John Murray Press and NetGalley for the ARC.
December 19, 2024
Disclaimer: ik heb het boek 80% uitgelezen weer aan Jeanne teruggegeven, en de citaten hieronder zijn misschien niet letterlijk, maar geven volgens mij de algehele vibe goed weer. Enfin. Waar moet ik beginnen? Mijn eerste frustratie was de berg aan wijsheden uit de Happinez-scheurkalender: ieder hoofdstukje (van maximaal 2 pagina's) eindigt met 'Sometimes, you have to let the child in you run free' en 'When the storm of life raves all around you, hold on to the little things' en meer van dat soort ongein. Ik heb echt mijn best gedaan om erdoorheen te lezen, en ik weet niet of het de pijn verzachtte of verergerde dat er inderdaad af en toe een glimp opdook van best een fascinerend verhaal, te weten de jeugd van de auteur. Helaas werd iedere potentieel interessante scène in de kiem gesmoord met weer een 'dancing barefoot in the garden, she dreamed of flowers and stars' enzovoort, én met het veel oninteressantere verhaal van het heden van de auteur (frustratie 2). Dat heden is zo oninteressant doordat daarin voornamelijk de auteur en haar zoon voorkomen, en deze twee wordt iedere kritiek bespaard (frustratie 3). Zijzelf heeft soms wel de nare gedachte dat ze een slechte moeder is, maar 'I have to remind myself again and again, that everything I do, I do out of love' en de zoon heeft soms driftbuien die te wijten zijn aan zijn diabetes, en is verder een picture-perfect engeltje dat spreekt in citaten van Rupi Kaur. Jeanne kwam met het interessante idee om de auteur van deze memoires (!) te beschouwen als onbetrouwbare verteller, wat voelt als het argument van ontoerekeningsvatbaarheid ter verlaging van de strafmaat. Goed, bijna klaar met gal spuwen, nog 2 minifrustraties die ik uit coulance zal groeperen. Frustratie 4a: waarom krijgt (behalve de auteur) niemand een naam? Frustratie 4b: waar slaat die titel op?
June 8, 2023
'I watch my son leave behind his baby years, marking off the little griefs that go unnoticed in the forward-push and backward-glance of days. So much has been lost to sorrow. Sometimes, it feels as though I am just catching up. I want to pull him back, press rewind, start again.'
- All My Wild Mothers
I absolutely adored this book. It is heartbreaking, beautiful, comforting and magical, and in fact really quite a credit to Victoria that she created such beauty out of the pain she experienced after losing her sister.
The narrative itself is an enchanting combination of memoir and herbal folklore, and it really pulled me in as Victoria weaves her story through details and facts about plants. Her writing is passionate, and in fact it reminds me of Raynor Winn and the way I felt reading about her pain and loss too. Motherhood is a big theme throughout; a kind of hard work that takes up mental energy you don't feel you possess in times of grief, but also spurs you on with a beauty and joy previously unimagined.
So many people can relate I'm sure, to the struggles and heartache we're faced with over the years. Victoria writes, 'when I imagined our future, it held no grief', and I know that feeling well. When you settle down into adult life, you have a vision of what your life will be, and it doesn't involve suffering. But finding joy in the little things, like creating a garden full of small wonders, is a magic unto itself.
I would also say that if you enjoyed Alice Vincent's 'Why Women Grow' or Cathy Rentzenbrink's works on grief, then I'm sure you'll like 'All My Wild Mothers'. Highly recommended!
- All My Wild Mothers
I absolutely adored this book. It is heartbreaking, beautiful, comforting and magical, and in fact really quite a credit to Victoria that she created such beauty out of the pain she experienced after losing her sister.
The narrative itself is an enchanting combination of memoir and herbal folklore, and it really pulled me in as Victoria weaves her story through details and facts about plants. Her writing is passionate, and in fact it reminds me of Raynor Winn and the way I felt reading about her pain and loss too. Motherhood is a big theme throughout; a kind of hard work that takes up mental energy you don't feel you possess in times of grief, but also spurs you on with a beauty and joy previously unimagined.
So many people can relate I'm sure, to the struggles and heartache we're faced with over the years. Victoria writes, 'when I imagined our future, it held no grief', and I know that feeling well. When you settle down into adult life, you have a vision of what your life will be, and it doesn't involve suffering. But finding joy in the little things, like creating a garden full of small wonders, is a magic unto itself.
I would also say that if you enjoyed Alice Vincent's 'Why Women Grow' or Cathy Rentzenbrink's works on grief, then I'm sure you'll like 'All My Wild Mothers'. Highly recommended!
June 13, 2023
What a wonderful read this is. The memoir of author Victoria Bennett this is her story interspersed with pictures and descriptions of herbs and plants and their historical folklore and medicinal uses. Beautifully written, almost poetic, it’s a very relaxing read, like cuddling up on the sofa with a box of chocolates and watching a favourite film. That’s not to say it’s not emotional. It is. Very emotional. I had tears when her son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at just two and a half years old - heartbreaking.
Briefly, Victoria was born into a family who spent their lives moving around with her fathers job as an engineer. They settled when she was just five. When she was 7 months pregnant her eldest sister was killed in a canoeing accident, this had a lasting effect on Victoria. When her son is six Victoria moves with her family to a social housing estate in Cumbria and with her son decides to create a magical garden. With little money they craft their garden from wild flowers and plants, an apothecary’s garden.
The timeline is a bit back and forth but it works just fine. The relationship with her son is something special to see and it was interesting as a non parent to see just how much what her son says and does affects her. He’s a very special child. A really lovely, thought provoking read, bitingly honest, sad and happy but quite uplifting.
4.5⭐️
Briefly, Victoria was born into a family who spent their lives moving around with her fathers job as an engineer. They settled when she was just five. When she was 7 months pregnant her eldest sister was killed in a canoeing accident, this had a lasting effect on Victoria. When her son is six Victoria moves with her family to a social housing estate in Cumbria and with her son decides to create a magical garden. With little money they craft their garden from wild flowers and plants, an apothecary’s garden.
The timeline is a bit back and forth but it works just fine. The relationship with her son is something special to see and it was interesting as a non parent to see just how much what her son says and does affects her. He’s a very special child. A really lovely, thought provoking read, bitingly honest, sad and happy but quite uplifting.
4.5⭐️
February 2, 2023
I don't think I will ever find enough words to express how profoundly beautiful this book is.
A real-life story expressing love and respect for nature. Sharing what loss and grief feel like and how nature can be our guide in turbulent times. Victoria and her little son share the most beautiful bond which often left me in tears. It is so loving, gentle and full of wise words of wisdom, especially coming from a four-year-old.
My favourite line was - "Our lives are ringed by the years, and their seasons. To survive them, there must be a little hardening. Keep watch, though, and you will see there will also also be the return of spring."
I feel that in years to come I will come back to this book as it was packed with so much knowledge on plants. Each chapter started with a new plant followed by a memory from Victoria's life.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a such a wonderful read. I enjoyed this very much so.
A real-life story expressing love and respect for nature. Sharing what loss and grief feel like and how nature can be our guide in turbulent times. Victoria and her little son share the most beautiful bond which often left me in tears. It is so loving, gentle and full of wise words of wisdom, especially coming from a four-year-old.
My favourite line was - "Our lives are ringed by the years, and their seasons. To survive them, there must be a little hardening. Keep watch, though, and you will see there will also also be the return of spring."
I feel that in years to come I will come back to this book as it was packed with so much knowledge on plants. Each chapter started with a new plant followed by a memory from Victoria's life.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a such a wonderful read. I enjoyed this very much so.
April 22, 2023
This is a beautifully written memoir about the grief suffered from the loss of a sister, but also about the author’s attempts to create a garden with her young son. It is a very raw, emotional book and so honest. The author has a wonderful way of expressing her internal thoughts and feelings and I really felt like I was there with her. It is a book full of both heartache and uplifting moments and I never felt like it pulled me down because it is such a hopeful book.
I loved the contrast between the emotion and the encyclopaedic introductions of each chapter as we learn about a new plant. I recommend this book to anyone who has suffered with grief but also to mothers and people who love to learn about nature. Especially those who want to read about how effective nature is at healing and uniting.
With thanks to Netgalley and John Murray Press for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.
I loved the contrast between the emotion and the encyclopaedic introductions of each chapter as we learn about a new plant. I recommend this book to anyone who has suffered with grief but also to mothers and people who love to learn about nature. Especially those who want to read about how effective nature is at healing and uniting.
With thanks to Netgalley and John Murray Press for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.
October 4, 2023
This memoir is at once hard and heart-breaking, beautiful and uplifting. The way the chapters were each prefaced by a specific plant, with folklore and herblore and a special resinance with the part of Victoria’s story that followed was an absolutely fantastic way to structure the book. I found in these pages life lessons that I, too, had received (in different ways) some I’d learnt, some I was learning and some that I hadn’t recognised until I saw them here. It was moving and heartfelt and contained such strong spirit of place and people that there were parts I felt in my soul as I read.
It left me with a sense of wonder, of magic, and of sisterhood that I hadn’t thought possible to get from paper and ink and it is another book that I know I will be returning to again and again. I also really appreciated the list of books in the back, offering a place to start your own apothecary library should you have been inspired to do so.
It left me with a sense of wonder, of magic, and of sisterhood that I hadn’t thought possible to get from paper and ink and it is another book that I know I will be returning to again and again. I also really appreciated the list of books in the back, offering a place to start your own apothecary library should you have been inspired to do so.
December 22, 2022
All My Wild Mothers is in my top five reads of the year; such a stunning in-depth and personal book that is part memoir, part an introduction guide to seeds, wild plants and their uses in traditional healing.
I felt such a deep connection to the author, her young son and their wild garden that they nurtured from seed and soil during turbulent times of grief and uncertainty. Defying norms, rules and expectations their garden grows providing joy, escapism, a classroom, a way to heal and remember, and so much more. Showing us how compassion, freedom and acceptance can be found by rediscovering our roots within nature and connecting with our wild mothers. I adored every seed and every chapter down in this graciously honest and beautiful book.
I felt such a deep connection to the author, her young son and their wild garden that they nurtured from seed and soil during turbulent times of grief and uncertainty. Defying norms, rules and expectations their garden grows providing joy, escapism, a classroom, a way to heal and remember, and so much more. Showing us how compassion, freedom and acceptance can be found by rediscovering our roots within nature and connecting with our wild mothers. I adored every seed and every chapter down in this graciously honest and beautiful book.
February 8, 2023
Can I allow myself to believe in the mystery, alongside the weight of truth, and learn to trust the beauty I find growing in the dark?
I share quite a few things with the author: we have had a child at the same age(albeit it was my second, but due to a huge 14 year gap it does feel as if it's my first :D), I have shared the same worry for the wellbeing of my unborn child, but also the worry of having to deal with a potentially life long condition clouding our lives; I have home educated my first born and we very much considering doing the same for our second one; I am a bit of an amateurish gardener, having had a raised bed for some year now!. Sharing all this with Victoria made me really feel her heartbreak, to the point where I started imagining how it would be to suddenly lose my sister. I have had to rein in tears as I was reading, countless times! And saying that All My Wild Mothers is a raw and tearjerker read is an understatement!
I really loved the idea of the "wild" garden and I particularly enjoyed reading the bits at the start of each chapter about the different plants, their meaning and uses in history. I found this a unique and very enjoyable way to write a memoir. Plus I really love reading about people that are not necessary famous. I always found their lives are so rich and Victoria's like is indeed full of depths and heartbreak worth reading about!
*Book from NetGalley with many thanks to the publisher for the opportunity!
I share quite a few things with the author: we have had a child at the same age(albeit it was my second, but due to a huge 14 year gap it does feel as if it's my first :D), I have shared the same worry for the wellbeing of my unborn child, but also the worry of having to deal with a potentially life long condition clouding our lives; I have home educated my first born and we very much considering doing the same for our second one; I am a bit of an amateurish gardener, having had a raised bed for some year now!. Sharing all this with Victoria made me really feel her heartbreak, to the point where I started imagining how it would be to suddenly lose my sister. I have had to rein in tears as I was reading, countless times! And saying that All My Wild Mothers is a raw and tearjerker read is an understatement!
I really loved the idea of the "wild" garden and I particularly enjoyed reading the bits at the start of each chapter about the different plants, their meaning and uses in history. I found this a unique and very enjoyable way to write a memoir. Plus I really love reading about people that are not necessary famous. I always found their lives are so rich and Victoria's like is indeed full of depths and heartbreak worth reading about!
*Book from NetGalley with many thanks to the publisher for the opportunity!
April 30, 2023
Lovely book, gorgeous little plant drawings. It has made me super aware of the richness around me as I perambulate around the neighbourhood or take myself on longer walks. It’s a book about growing hope out of loss, about resilience and keeping going, one step at a time. It’s sad and funny and heartfelt and inspirational. It’s about rediscovering wonder in the small things we see and do. It’s about love and belonging, creating something out of very little, the wonder of nature, our bodies, family dynamics and dealing with uncomprehending bureaucracy and modern life’s antipathy to the natural world. Read it, read it slowly, and reflect on your own relationship to the other lives / life forms on this planet.
February 10, 2023
What I most enjoyed about All My Wild Mothers were the descriptions of plants (ok, what some might call weeds) at the opening of each chapter. The various names, uses and array of intriguing facts delighted and sent me off to google those I did not know. What a fresh and delightful way to begin each section.
Victoria Bennett is a skilled wordsmith and made poetry of her life story. I feel certain this is the first book of a budding career as a writer. Her tale is a painful one with grief in the wake of passing family members intermingled with the joys of motherhood. Threading in nature and nurturing a love of the wild world in her son was a glorious, hope-inspiring journey.
Victoria Bennett is a skilled wordsmith and made poetry of her life story. I feel certain this is the first book of a budding career as a writer. Her tale is a painful one with grief in the wake of passing family members intermingled with the joys of motherhood. Threading in nature and nurturing a love of the wild world in her son was a glorious, hope-inspiring journey.
March 2, 2023
Loved it. Just loved this book. So tender and gentle, hinting at deeper tragedy and giving just enough info to make me want to know more but know that it's best to move on.
I felt for the author so many times, being able to imagine what you were going through as a mum. Utterly captivated by the garden.
And the membrillo section made me spit my drink out with laughter. I too have covered a kitchen in gloopy pink gunk.
Thank you so much for sharing this with the world. This book is wonderful. I want everyone to read it so I can talk to them about it!
Will be recommending it to my book club
I felt for the author so many times, being able to imagine what you were going through as a mum. Utterly captivated by the garden.
And the membrillo section made me spit my drink out with laughter. I too have covered a kitchen in gloopy pink gunk.
Thank you so much for sharing this with the world. This book is wonderful. I want everyone to read it so I can talk to them about it!
Will be recommending it to my book club
May 24, 2024
A beautiful book! Brought me close to tears a few times. I liked the layout with the chapters being named after different plants and then a summary of the common names and uses of each plant and a folklore.
I also want to share this passage which is at the end of the book:
Spoiler alert I guess?
"I spent so long afraid of what the future might bring but now, I let it go. These days in which we live are made of one measure joy, and one of sorrow. There is no pinnacle of happiness to be reached, no perfect life to be achieved. There is just this messy, terrible, beautiful life we live, and I am thankful for it."
I also want to share this passage which is at the end of the book:
Spoiler alert I guess?
"I spent so long afraid of what the future might bring but now, I let it go. These days in which we live are made of one measure joy, and one of sorrow. There is no pinnacle of happiness to be reached, no perfect life to be achieved. There is just this messy, terrible, beautiful life we live, and I am thankful for it."
June 27, 2024
A beautiful book with a lovely circular feel to the story. I loved the main character and her son, in some ways we knew so much and in others not very much.
I loved the gardening aspect, and wish there was a description on the finished garden. The illustrations are beautiful, but each time I had to 'google' the different species of flower. But it means I learnt a lot.
By the end of the story I was left thinking a lot about my own bereavements and grief and the reassuring comfort we can find in nature.
I loved the gardening aspect, and wish there was a description on the finished garden. The illustrations are beautiful, but each time I had to 'google' the different species of flower. But it means I learnt a lot.
By the end of the story I was left thinking a lot about my own bereavements and grief and the reassuring comfort we can find in nature.
February 18, 2023
This may be the best book I have read in the whole of my life. And I am 76 years old and have had a book-a-day habit for most of it. "Motherhood is made of sugar-milk and sweet dreams, but grief is the dark hag that lives in the woods. She does not invite tenderness, she does not ask for love. She is a mud-dweller, feral and fierce, and will not leave. The wound she tears in me is pink and raw, unable to heal." Nearly 400 pages as good as this. Or better.
February 3, 2023
I adored this book. It blew my mind that out of something so sad, something so hopeful was born. There is a real sense of the need for patience and time in this writing, and a willingness to find beauty and healing in the tiniest seemingly most unpromising places. It’s gorgeous, generous writing with real heart, a strong sense of place and joy.
February 12, 2023
I found this book hard to put down! Every sentence seems to be constructed with such care and filled with the raw description of managing grief whilst the rest of life has to go on such that it compels you to want to know more.. Interspersed with the knowledge of wild plants and their healing properties... it is so much more than a memoir.
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