About All My Wild Mothers: At seven months pregnant, Victoria Bennett learns her sister has died in a canoeing accident. In that moment, her life changes. Five years later, and struggling with the demands of motherhood, grief and full-time care, Victoria and her family move to a new social housing estate in rural Cumbria. Here, in the rubble of a former industrial site, she and her young son begin to grow a wild apothecary garden: daisy, for resilience; dandelion, for strength against adversity; sow thistle, to lift melancholy; and borage, to bring hope in dark and difficult times. Stone by stone, seed by seed, they discover that sometimes life grows, not in spite what is broken, but because of it.
‘Lyrical and beautiful… the book we all need to read right now’ Catherine Simpson, author of One Body An intimate memoir of motherhood, herbal folklore
‘Spellbinding… the most moving portrait of a mother and child I’ve ever read’ Tanya Shadrick, author of The Cure For Sleep
‘An impossibly moving memoir of gardens, herbalism, and the rigours and rewards of care… It heralds the arrival of an exciting new voice in nature writing’ Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment ‘A stunning meditation on the joy of nurturing (and of getting your hands dirty). It is a love letter to mothering and nature and mother nature, which bursts with wisdom, humility and hope. The writing is lyrical and beautiful… exactly the book we all need to read right now… What a wonderful book’ Catherine Simpson, author of When I Had A Little Sister
‘Beautiful and life-affirming experience. A memoir written with tremendous care for the reader’ Jini Riddy, author of Wanderland
‘Prismatically beautiful in its honesty and telling… a wonderful book. An apothecary of love’ Nicola Chester, author of On Gallows Down
