Around the House and in the Garden: A Memoir of Heartbreak, Healing, and Home Improvement

by Dominique Browning

Book Overview

"My story," writes Dominique Browning, the editor in chief of House & Garden, "is about the way a house can express loss, and then bereavement, and then, finally, the rebuilding of a life." Around the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743225953
• ISBN13: 9780743225953
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.7" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

An insight of a gardener

When I received this book, I couldn't put it down. I read it all in one day. So interesting, Her sensitivity is really amazing.

I'd Give it 10 Stars if I could

Sometimes a book comes along that changes our outlook--perhaps even pulls us from despair. Ms. Browning's book seemed to take my hand and yank me from the quagmire. She seemed to be saying, You are not the first woman to let a garden run to seed or to watch small trees sprout from your gutters! You are not the only woman who has made a mistake--whether it's choosing the wrong a sofa . . . or man. Giving ourselves permission to fix our lifes can often be as difficult as repairing a gas leak --the job is far too difficult and dangerous to contemplate. Setting ourselves free isn't painless--in fact, "setting" is the wrong word. It is more like ripping and tearing; although sometimes it can be more like a surgical separation--no matter, all methods are painful and require a period of rest and healing. That is the most important concept of the book--in her inimitable style, she gently reminds us that it is "okay" to let things go to seed, and that our houses and gardens are barometers of our emotional lives. These barometers will let us know when it is time to rebuild the nest.

Truly beautiful collection of essays

As a longtime fan of personal essays -- and one who teaches writing workshops on the topic -- I found this to be an exceptionally enjoyable and beautifully written collection. Best of all, as a homemaker who loves the domestic arts, I think Browning strikes just the right tone of love and yearning for home. Most of us are too busy these days to spend all the time we'd like creating a home and garden, or nurturing a young family. Browning hones in on these desires and serves up poignant pieces everyone can relate to -- even if we're not divorced or uprooted. I would love to see more of her work (yes, I subscribe to her magazine just to read her essays) in book form!

In love with your home

This book is for anyone looking to explore their feelings toward their home and surroundings. Miss Browning gets to the soul of her home and gives meaning to inanimate items collected throughout her home and garden. Explore what you've been missing in your relationship with your home. My hopes are that Dominique compiles another collection of essays, soon. Readers can preview Dominique Browning's writing style in her monthly editorial in the magazine, House and Garden.