Our second GJC Book Club read, Plot 29 by Allan Jenkins was highly recommended to us by Eleanor from Hope Springs Gardening and what a wonderful choice!
Plot 29 is about how gardening can soothe us and bring us peace. Allan shows us this alongside his journey of looking back into his early life in care and then in foster and all the things that happened before and since. Some books you read and some you really feel. So beautiful is Allan’s writing that I found myself in a kaleidoscope of emotions all the way through this memoir. It’s quite difficult to write a post about it because I really don’t want to give anything away or do it a disservice, especially for anyone like me coming to it with not much knowledge of its content.
What I will say though is that at some points my heart raced, at some points I cried and at other points I felt sad, frustrated and angry. However, the overriding feeling throughout is the sense of peace and healing that tending to plants and connecting to nature brings. I suppose for those who work in green care or therapeutic horticulture this won’t be a surprise but wow, Allan’s journal and story really is a powerful description of it in action.
So, along with Eleanor I also highly recommend Plot 29. I know it will stay with me for a very long time.
Before we talk about our next read, just to let you know that anyone can join the book club. It’s just like any other book club except we are focussing on plants and nature. I’ve written more about it in the ‘Book Club!’ post. Find us on Instagram at #GCJBookClub or see the book club story highlights @GrowCreateJoy.
The next book suggestion comes to us from Emily at Garden to Wellbeing and that is The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben, which sounds fascinating. Seeing as spring is on its way and these can be the busiest months of the year and a time when us gardeners are itching to spend more time outside, how about we read this over March and April?
Do let us know if you have any suggestions for May’s GJC Book Club read.