My Life in Plants: Flowers I've Loved, Herbs I've Grown, and Houseplants I've Killed on the Way to Finding Myself

By Katie Vaz

A “beautifully illustrated memoir, a deeply personal remembrance about the navigation into adulthood and the plants along the way. Touching and relatable.” (Lori Roberts, author of A Life of Gratitude)
 
From Katie Vaz, author of Don’t Worry, Eat Cake, the beloved Make Yourself Cozy, and The Escape Manual for Introverts, comes My Life in Plants. Her newest book tells the story of her life through the thirty-nine plants that have played both leading and supporting roles, from her childhood to her wedding day. Plants include a homegrown wildflower bouquet wrapped in duct tape that she carried on stage at age three, to a fragrant basil plant that brought her and her kitchen back to life after grief.
 
The stories are personal, poignant, heartwarming, and relatable, and will prompt readers to recall plants of their own that have been witness to both the amazing moments of life and the ordinary ones. This illustrated memoir covers the simplicity of home, the sharpness of loss, the lesson of learning to be present, and the journey of finding your way

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Sep 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781524866051

Katie Vaz

Katie Vaz is an illustrator, author, and hand-letterer based in Endicott, New York. Her previous books include Make Yourself Cozy; The Escape Manual for Introverts; My Life in Plants; and Cottagecore Galore. Katie also designs her own line of greeting cards, prints, and other stationery products, which are sold both online and in brick-and-mortar shops across North America. Her work has been featured on BookRiot.com, ElephantJournal.com, Buzzfeed.com, RealSimple.com, WomansDay.com, POPSUGAR.com, in Stationery Trends magazine, and in Time Out New York magazine. Visit her online at www.katievaz.com.

Book preview

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Also by Katie Vaz

The Escape Manual for Introverts

Make Yourself Cozy

Don’t Worry, Eat Cake

For my sister Sarah Vazcontents

chapter 1. Wildflowers

chapter 2. Cattails

chapter 3. Aloe Vera

chapter 4. Green Onions

chapter 5. Rhubarb

chapter 6. Venus Flytrap

chapter 7. Carnations

chapter 8. Tomato Plants

chapter 9. Geraniums

chapter 10. Strawberry Plants

chapter 11. Lilacs

chapter 12. Homecoming Bouquet

chapter 13. Prom Corsages

chapter 14. Red Roses

chapter 15. Mums

chapter 16. Cat Grass

chapter 17. Daisies

chapter 18. Pink Roses

chapter 19. Standing Funeral Wreath

chapter 20. Poinsettia

chapter 21. African Violet

chapter 22. Peace Lily

chapter 23. Morning Glories

chapter 24. Crab Apple Tree

chapter 25. Rosemary

chapter 26. Butt Succulent

chapter 27. Sunflowers

chapter 28. Cupcake Flowers

chapter 29. Air Plant

chapter 30. Lucky Bamboo

chapter 31. Boston Fern

chapter 32. Blue Hydrangeas

chapter 33. Basil

chapter 34. Lavender

chapter 35. Crocus

chapter 36. Tulips

chapter 37. Thanksgiving Centerpiece

chapter 38. Rhododendrons

chapter 39. Fiddlehead Ferns

epilogue

acknowledgments

drawing of little girl on stage holding wildflowers speaking into microphone

1

Wildflowers

Before leaving to go to the Little Miss Candor pageant at our local American Legion, my dad picked wildflowers from the patches of tall grass and weeds along our driveway. Then he bound the stems together with duct tape to make a bouquet for me. I wore a heart-patterned white and red dress that my mom had made, and I had a bright turquoise Little Mermaid bandage on my shin. I told the audience that my favorite activity was swimming in my Aunt Barbara’s pool and that the bandage was for a boo-boo I got while playing outside. I won and got to be in two parades a few days later, wearing a tiara and a sash, carrying a sequined wand, and feeling like a princess. In one parade, my mom and I rode in a red Corvette convertible, me propped up on the back seat and waving shyly to parade watchers. In the other, I rode in the back of a pickup truck with some of the other kids from the pageant, including Little Mr. Candor. They wore clothes that were much fancier, bought from a department store. That was the first time I noticed such a thing.

drawing of little girl and dad walking through field of cattails

2

Cattails

I   grew up with my parents and sister in a small yellow double-wide on a hill, surrounded mostly by woods. I never liked the dark, and I was always afraid of the woods at nighttime.

We lived on a dirt road bordered by drainage ditches filled with cattails and tall grass in the summertime. The cattails captivated me, appearing brown and wobbly like cartoonish hot dogs on their long, grassy stalks. Behind our house was a pond surrounded by more cattails and tall grass. It felt wild and uninhabited. You couldn’t see the horizon because there were more fields and hills and tall grass. It seemed to go on forever like that. I always had the feeling that we were on the edge of the world there, like nothing existed beyond the border of our property. Walking to the edges felt lonely and eerie, almost like intruding on a world that didn’t need us. My dad told me that when I was older, I would appreciate it more and see the house as a retreat from the world, a sanctuary in nature. But I never grew to like it. I do not like the feeling of being the only human around.

drawing of mother applying aloe leaf to little girls finger

3

Aloe Vera

There was a fireplace at our house, and my dad loved having fires going. One night, while my mom was adding wood and newspaper to the fire, I wanted to help. My mom added a piece of crumpled-up newspaper to the fire, but it was a piece that I wanted to throw in. So I reached into the fire to grab for it . . . and burned my finger.

My mom had an aloe vera plant that sat on the kitchen windowsill over the sink. It was a

Reviews for My Life in Plants

[coffeefairy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

So I went on a whole journey with this book! I listened to the audio version, so I didn't get to see the illustrations the author mentions in the back of the book.

At first, I thought the book was fine, but maybe not for me. Maybe I wasn't the target audience. It's pleasant enough, I thought, but doesn't really delve deeply into the experiences she had with plants, people and life lessons. But, I thought as I listened, I really like the chapter on her prom and the one about her grandpa and his tomatoes.

As I continued to listen to the book and her stories on what sounded like a very supportive, happy family, I wondered if there was any conflict the author might mention. As the memoir continued, things started to come together and it became apparent that one of the author’s greatest struggles is living in the moment and enjoying moments as they are.

That’s when it also became clear to me that this memoir is really a love letter to mindfulness.

It’s a sweet little book on the healing power of plants and how they serve as milestones or symbols of family, traditions, people or events.

One quick word on the depth of the memoir: The author mentions she has a tendency to overanalyze. It occurs to me that perhaps not going too deeply into things was a conscious choice. One of experiencing things as they are, without overthinking.

3.5 stars, rounded up to four

[asheley-627878 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I chose to listen to this audiobook because I love books about trees and plants. Plus it has the cutest cover! Based on the title, I expected stories centered around plants and flowers. But this is more like little vignettes about different stand-out moments in the author's life in which plants are present. In most circumstances, the plants and flowers are mentioned casually. The stories are entertaining, but I was really hoping for something more centered in nature, where the plants occupy more space.The audiobook is nice: the chapters are very short, the length is very short, and the narrator has a nice, upbeat delivery of the story. However if I could go back and restart this one, I would want it to be a print copy, because the author is an illustrator and her art style is really wonderful. I think it would be a lot of fun to read the short passages with the illustration that goes along with it. Nothing wrong with the audiobook; I just think the artistry is really lovely.Title: My Life in Plants: Flowers I've Loved, Herbs I've Grown, and Houseplants I've Killed on the Way to Finding Myself by Katie VaxNarrator: Taylor MeskimenLength: 1 hour, 36 minutesPublisher: Andrews McMeel PublishingThank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley for gifting me an early copy of this audiobook in exchange for a review!