Book Description

“A generous, poignant memoir” of loss, family secrets, and a quest to shape something beautiful out of the chaos of nature (Kirkus Reviews). Just as Alex and her husband buy a house in Toronto, set atop an acre of wilderness that extends into a natural gorge in the middle of the city, she learns that her father, a Ukrainian-born immigrant, has died. Her new home’s gigantic, abandoned garden, choked with weeds and crumbling antique structures, resembles a wild jungle—and it stirs cherished memories of Alex’s childhood: When her home life became unbearable, she would escape to the forest. In her new home, Alex can feel the power of the majestic trees that nurtured her in her youth, but as she begins to beat back the bushes to unveil the garden’s mysteries, her mother has a stroke and develops dementia. When Alex discovers an envelope of yellowed documents while sorting through her father’s junk pile, offering clues to her parents’ mysterious past, she reluctantly musters the courage to uncover their secrets. While discovering the plants hidden in the garden—from primroses and maple syrup–producing sugar maples to her mother’s favorite, lily of the valley—she must come to terms with the circle of life around her, and find the courage to tend to her own family’s future. “The land is rife with unexpected delights: a huge, decaying pagoda, underground aquifers, a pond, koi, deer, and all manner of vegetation. . . . As she restores the property and heals her long-troubled soul, Risen paints a vivid and exquisite portrait of nature and its profound significance.” —Publishers Weekly