Mister Owita's Guide to Gardening
How I Learned the Unexpected Joy of a Green Thumb and an Open Heart
1 of 1 copy available
“A perfect spring awakening.”—Good Housekeeping
A true story of a unique friendship between two people who had nothing—and ultimately everything—in common.
Carol Wall, a white woman living in a lily-white neighborhood in Middle America, is at a crossroads in her life. Her children are grown; she has successfully overcome illness; her beloved parents are getting older. One day she notices a dark-skinned African man tending her neighbor’s yard. His name is Giles Owita. He bags groceries at the supermarket. He comes from Kenya. And he’s very good at gardening.
Before long Giles is transforming not only Carol’s yard, but her life. Though they are seemingly quite different, a caring bond grows between them. But they both hold long-buried secrets that, when revealed, will cement their friendship forever.
-
Creators
-
Publisher
-
Release date
March 1, 2014 -
Formats
-
OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781101975299
- File size: 196162 KB
- Duration: 06:48:40
-
-
Languages
- English
-
Reviews
-
While going through some personal struggles in her life, including a recurrence of breast cancer and caring for her aging parents, Carol Wall finds inspiration in the friendship she strikes up with her gardener, Giles Owita, an immigrant from Kenya who is facing his own set of difficult circumstances. Narrator Cynthia Darlow handles Carol's struggles with grace and an introspective tone, as well as a touch of a Southern accent for the Virginia resident. However, Darlow's voicing for Owita and his wife's accents is uneven, sometimes ending up sounding more Indian than Kenyan. Owita imparts valuable lessons to Carol, not only in terms of tending to her lawn but also in handling life's difficulties with dignity and acceptance. S.E.G. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine -
Starred review from December 9, 2013
In this moving memoir chronicling the many lasting rewards garnered from an unexpected friendship, writer Wall enlists a neighbor’s gardener, a man from Kenya, to help her maintain her garden. What begins as a purely professional relationship, with Wall hoping to learn more about gardening, blossoms into an intimate friendship. Wall, a breast cancer patient, admits that, before she met Giles Owita, her outlook on life was less than sunny. Always an introvert and prone to social gaffes, Wall was dealing at the time with her parent’s decline. Slowly, over three years, Owita, a quiet and unassuming man, transforms Wall’s unkempt lawn into a living masterpiece, showing Wall the beauty inherent in everyday life. While transmitting the knowledge for growing a bountiful garden, Owita passes along how one might live a satisfying life. “Each time I walked away from Giles, I felt either enlightened by his brilliance or unburdened of some of my worries and sadness.” Wall eventually learns of the personal, family and health issues endured by her friend, marveling at his grace and strength. This tender narrative gently probes the complicated terrain of American race relations, dealing with serious illness and facing the death of loved ones. Agent: Marly Rusoff, Marly Rusoff Literary.
-