Nature has a way of grounding us, helping us get back to the basics and connect with ourselves. In the newly released
Unearthed, a memoir by Alexandra Risen, we see a neglected garden used to represent Risen's journey of understanding and accepantance. While the description of the memoir is "How an Abandoned Garden Taught Me to Accept and Love My Parents", I think, though real, the garden is actually a representation of history, growth, mystery, nurture, and understanding—and that true acceptance can only come with time and age. Unfortunately, we don't often get to that point until it's too late to say goodbye or share our growth with loved ones. But we can still make peace with ourselves.
When it comes to memoirs, I usually wind up on one extreme or the other (love 'em or hate 'em). It's usually a question of interesting versus boring. Fortunately, this one was on the love side for me. As someone who feels entirely disconnected with her past on one side of the family, I could identify with Risen. I know next to nothing about the paternal side of the family because similarly, they never talked about the past.
