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Nabaza.net-The MarketPlace - The Unlikely Lavender Queen: A Memoir of Unexpected Blossoming
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List Price: $23.95
Our Price: $16.29
Your Save: $ 7.66 ( 32% )
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Manufacturer: Broadway
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 633.81
EAN: 9780767927956
ISBN: 0767927958
Label: Broadway
Manufacturer: Broadway
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 272
Publication Date: 2008-05-27
Publisher: Broadway
Release Date: 2008-05-27
Studio: Broadway
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Editorial Reviews:
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“I couldn’t help but question how I’d gotten to this strange spot in my life, so far from what I’d expected for myself. Yes, there had been a heady romance a few years back. Then a slew of subsequent decisions, fueled by love and yearnings I didn’t even know I had. But I never, ever would have suspected that this was where the sum total of them would bring me. That afternoon a new doubt dripped into my mind. When do you know, I wondered, whether the choices you’ve made were the right ones?”
In 1990, Jeannie Ralston was a successful magazine writer and bona fide city girl—the type of woman who couldn't imagine living on soil not shaded by skyscrapers. By 1994, she had called off an engagement, married Robb, a National Geographic photographer, and was living in Blanco Texas, population 1600.
The Unlikely Lavender Queen is the intimate story of a woman who gives up a lot for the man she loves – her beloved blue state, bagels and all-night bodegas—only to have to wonder: Was it too much? Ralston offers a lively chronicle of her life as a wife, new mother and an urban settler in rural Texas. As she labors to convert a dilapidated barn into a livable home, deal with scorpions and unbearably hot summers, raise two young children while Robb is frequently away on assignment, she realizes her ultimate struggle is to reconcile her life plans and goals with her husband’s without coming out the proverbial loser. And just when it seems like she might be losing that fight--and herself-- a little purple bloom changes her life.
For centuries lavender has been a mystical herb, so valuable to ancient Romans that a bushel would cost nearly a month’s wages. But when Robb returns from a trip to Provence with a plan for growing lavender on their land, Ralston is not convinced—in fact the last thing she needed or wanted was to take up farming on top of everything else. Then, much to her surprise, she slowly but surely falls in love with lavender, and in the course of growing and selling blooms, hosting the public at the farm, and creating lavender products, she discovers a new side of herself. A few short years later, Ralston had built Hill Country Lavender, a thriving commercial enterprise that transforms both her little corner of Texas and her life.
The Unlikely Lavender Queen will resonate with all women who have faced the tough choices that come with “having it all” and secretly (or not so secretly) hoped for great adventure to come along and surprise them. Ralston’s honest, funny, and poignant memoir is a testament to the fact that such adventures await us around every bend in life.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: I really connected to this book
Comment: As I was reading this I felt there were so many echoes of what I've experienced as a woman--for instance, the really hard work of making necessary compromises within a marriage. Talking about this is an important aspect of understanding what relationships are about and I don't think people really give this enough thought. I know my parents didn't talk to me about it and how it's a part of making a marriage work. Plus, the message that comes out is that when you give something you get something and that's a fundamental element to growth.
But beyond the message, the book is a great read, with a strong, compelling narrative. There are wonderful metaphors through out, and the best one is the overarching metaphor for the author's journey--taking a parched piece of land and creating a field of beautiful flowers. I think that any woman not living in a suburban bubble could completely identify.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Need a book to satisfy your hunger?
Comment: Let's face it- there alot of authors who proclaim to be great writers, but really stink. As a vigorous book lover, I read with all my friends in my book club and we tend to tear apart authors's that want to inspire women, but really put us to sleep.
That's why, I have to share with everyone, the book that satisfies my hunger, so much, that I want more and more. The Unlikely Lavender Queen- a must read for women, that takes the reader on amazing adventures. So many of us, can't fathom, being like Elizabeth Gilbert, in Eat, Pray and Love and running away somewhere to find ourselves.
That's why, YEAH, I loved indulging in Jeannie's adventures- you go girl! Books clubs, great conversation book over tea & chocolate, well at least, that's we have in my book club. Off for Unlikely Lavender Queen, www.jeannieralston.com - she rocks! Gotta tell all your girlfriends about this book.
Laura Grivner
Customer Rating:
Summary: I LOVED this book!
Comment: Having lived in New York City after college and subsequently spending too much time in Texas, I totally related to this book. I couldn't put it down and read it in two nights! It was a great read!
Customer Rating:
Summary: All can find this book helpful
Comment: I picked up this book hoping to read about my homestate of Texas and one person's account of living in the Hill Country. What I discovered was a wonderful book that everyone can learn from. Jeannie Ralton's takes us through her adjustment to life in rural Texas, after having lived in Manhattan. I could certainly relate to her transition, having moved to rurual Vermont from Texas several years ago. But you don't have to have made that type of move to learn from this book how not only to survive in unfamiliar territory, but how to actually thrive. I hope there's a sequel, as I'm curious how she is doing in Mexico and where life will take her. This is also a great book club book, as it will provide a good discussion on life's transitions, how to cope, how to manage marital strife during a transition and how to bloom when it feels like you will wither and die.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Bloom where you are planted!
Comment: I Had the pleasure of meeting Jeannie Ralston at the Los Poblanos Lavender Festival in Albuquerque. A friend had told me Jeannie's story, and I found it so intriguing that I bought her book on the spot. I could hardly wait to read it. Coincidentally, I was reading a mystery novel about lavender in the Texas hill country, a perfect segue! Her willingness to relocate with her husband, her acceptance of moving into a barn being remodeled... warts and all, this woman is very committed to her marriage. Her struggle to have children made the birth of her sons poignant. I grieved with Jeannie and her family over the loss of their beloved pets. Getting into lavender farming... what a dream! And she left it all. For something better. I loved this book; I treasure it!
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