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Tending the Earth, Mending the Spirit
Summary of Tending the Earth, Mending the Spirit
Most of us, if we aren't gardeners, know someone
who is. It's the most popular hobby in America,
incorporating everything from balcony pots to
backyard plots. Thousands of volumes have been
published about the practical aspects of growing
plants. Yet few books have probed the
psychological aspects of gardening. This one
does, by discussing such topics as the garden's
potential role in grieving and healing
processes, its application in prisons and
nursing homes, its celebration of beauty and
abundance, as well as its ability to unite
fragmented or drug-blighted communities in big
cities. The book also explores our innermost
motives for gardening, as a means of connecting
us directly to the cycles of birth, maturity,
and death. Tending the Earth, Mending the
Spirit: The Healing Gifts of Gardening was
published in 2000 by Hazelden. It was
co-authored by Richard Mahler, a passionate
gardener, and Connie Goldman, a journalist and
former NPR reporter who previously anchored the
All Things Considered radio news program. The
book is 235 pages long.
Purchase Tending the Earth, Mending the Spirit.
Excerpt from Tending the Earth, Mending the Spirit
I am fascinated by the rich inner world of the
gardener and by the enduring wisdom and deep
spiritual growth that we can derive through our
experience of gardens. That's why this book is
about finding and celebrating the sacred and the
spiritual in a garden, no matter how small or
simple, how large or extravagant, a particular
garden happens to be. There's no question that
what is sacred and miraculous in the garden can
inform and illuminate our entire being. The
lessons of nature are the truths of the life
force that also infuse us with heightened
energy, awareness, and creativity. [introduction, pp. xiv-xv]
Reviews of Tending the Earth, Mending the Spirit
"A rare book... Simple, honest, sensitive, and
beautifully written."
-Eddie Albert, actor (of Green Acres fame) and
gentleman gardener
"Tending the Earth, Mending the Spirit's
compassionate voice conveys the very stuff the
authors find inexplicable: the calm, clarity,
and hope that are the true joys of gardening."
-Ketzel Levine, NPR's gardening commentator,
"The Doyenne of Dirt"
"So many books detail the craft of gardening;
this one reveals the soul of gardening. It is a
valuable addition to any gardener's
bookshelf."
-Dr. Bill Thomas, M.D., New York physician and
founder of The Eden Alternative
"This delightful book nourishes the deep
soul-seeds within us all... Whether you are
already a gardener or not yet a gardener, here
is a rejuvenating invitation to become involved
in the natural healing spirituality that comes
from honoring the rhythms of planet and of
person."
-Ted Falcon, rabbi of Seattle's Bet Alef
Meditational Synagogue and author of A Journey
of Awakening
"The book's premise, illustrated in numerous
stories, is true: contact with nature can
promote mental, physical, and spiritual renewal.
Gardens teach patience; beauty; how to listen;
impermanence; birth; death, nonattachment...
Clearly the authors hope the words in this book
will provide a bridge to additional inspiration
and healing."
-Santa Fe New Mexican
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