[.ca] Around the House and in the Garden: A Memoir of ... (ISBN 0743226933)

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!

Okay for the price...not about gardening:
When I finished reading AROUND THE HOUSE AND IN THE GARDEN, I unconsciously placed Dominique Browning's book on the shelf next to Mirabel Osler's GENTLE PLEA FOR CHAOS. Spouses who've lost a wife or husband through death or divorce have something in common (whether they like it or not) and both Browning and Osler have something to say about bereavement. Osler's book will help you handle the loss following the death of a spouse, Browning's book will help you fall asleep and forget your ex. Osler's book is somewhat philosophical and for the recovering gardener, Browning's book is for the recovering partner. Browning is the editor-in-chief of House and Garden magazine, and her series of short essays is reminiscent of those short "editorials" one in her position undoubtedly writes for such a magazine. Her writing is friendly but very general. Browning provides no detail about gardening-or redecorating for that matter. Her book is sort of "autobiographical" but she shares very little of any great import about herself or anyone else in her family (or ex-familia). The closest she comes to sharing her emotions occurs when she describes a bedtime scene where she lifted her son up by his pajama lapels when he mentioned her ex-spouse's intended and jokingly informed him that he was not to talk about "other women" in her presence. In fact, Browning shares less about her self and family than the friendly passenger sitting next to you on a six-hour flight. If you need calming, gentle, diversionary material to lull you to sleep on those nights when you are thinking obsessively about something that can be better addressed the next day (like causing serious bodily harm), this little book may help. If you want some "real" gardening stuff you should check out Osler's book.

Great read!:
Reminiscent of Jackson McCrae's "THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD--A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens" (though that book goes very deep into the lives of houses), Browning's book is full of heart-warming stories and insight into what really makes up a home. The details she notices are amazing and she brings them to life for us with a sense of poetry and style. What a brave and caring book she's given us.

At last! Someone who gets it!:
In her essays on life in a home, Dominique Browning, editor of House & Garden, offers her own intensely personal experience with the ways in which the home environment affects and is affected by divorce, self-esteem, and vice versa. Her descriptions of her rooms, her struggle to find a good living room couch (after successfully finding a kitchen sofa), her explanations of plants and flowers to her young sons, all create the feeling that you are on the phone with an old friend working to describe her evolving life. Her deep understanding of the ways in which our environments affect us (for better, for worse, just like marriage) leads the readers to feel like the changes we've been tempted to make might just be logical after all.