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Hidden Nature: A Voyage of Discovery

Alys Fowler

3.83 · Rating details · 731 ratings · 101 reviews

Leaving her garden to the mercy of the slugs, award-winning writer Alys Fowler set out in an inflatable kayak to explore Birmingham's canal network, full of little-used waterways where huge pike skulk and kingfishers dart.

Her book is about noticing the wild everywhere and what it means to see beauty where you least expect it. What happens when someone who has learned to ob ...more

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Hardcover, 320 pages

Published July 14th 2017 by Hodder & Stoughton (first published 2017)

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Lists with This Book

British and Irish Nature Writing

224 books — 159 voters

Bird Girl & the Man Who Followed the Sun by Velma Wallis

Black Faces, White Spaces by Carolyn Finney

Women Writing about the Environment (2021)

25 books — 2 voters

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· 731 ratings · 101 reviews

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Jul 10, 2017 Rebecca rated it liked it

Shelves: nature, travel-books, year-challenges, memoirs, newbury-library

(2.5) I knew of Alys Fowler as a gardening columnist for the Guardian, but was intrigued to read her memoir mostly because she’s part of a small but increasingly visible body of people who have changed their sexual orientation – or woken up to the truth of it for the first time – a bit later in life. (I hope Molly Wizenberg will write a memoir about her experience, for instance.) Initially content with her Birmingham life – a job, a bounteous garden and allotment, a dog, and a household with her (2.5) I knew of Alys Fowler as a gardening columnist for the Guardian, but was intrigued to read her memoir mostly because she’s part of a small but increasingly visible body of people who have changed their sexual orientation – or woken up to the truth of it for the first time – a bit later in life. (I hope Molly Wizenberg will write a memoir about her experience, for instance.) Initially content with her Birmingham life – a job, a bounteous garden and allotment, a dog, and a household with her husband H. – Fowler felt opposing pulls: to be alone and to find her people; to go off on adventures and to sink into wherever felt like home. To that end, she bought an inflatable kayak and paddled through her city’s canal system, often stumbling on unexpected pockets of wildlife (though usually what most would call weeds or pests) along the way. She also fell in love with Charlotte and started building a life around this new bond, despite guilt over leaving H. to deal with his cystic fibrosis alone.

It’s such a promising setup, and could have ended up as profound as H is for Hawk, but for several problems: the descriptions of her actual kayak outings are repetitive and rather boring; she breaks off from the narrative all too frequently to give some local history or information about a particular plant or animal species (and then, usually unconvincingly, compares herself to said species); and her prose can be plain to the point of amateurish, e.g. “I liked Ming and Sarah a lot. I liked that they liked me. I liked hanging out with women” and “I don’t think coming out brings happiness. I know it can result in a lot of sadness.” For all her talk about emotions, Fowler never really lets the reader into her psyche; remembering the moment she told her husband she was gay, she speaks of her actions in the third person.

(And how much did I hate this punning appropriation of “dyke”?! “Among the strata are basalt dykes, once blistering columns of rising magma from active volcanoes deep within the earth. Dykes are easy to spot because they cut across the norm. If everything else is horizontal, dykes are vertical. They do the opposite of the standard formation. For obvious reasons, I love dykes.”)

Ultimately more interesting in its bare bones summary than in its execution, this is still a competent combination of the year-challenge and self-transformation autobiographical subgenres. There was certainly a story here to be told. That I had to force myself to keep reading and spent much longer than I normally would over such a short book is, however, evidence of a less than fluid style. This might have been less noticeable in a long-form essay. The proofreading is also somewhat poor, which always particularly irks me in a traditionally published work. ...more

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May 24, 2017 Jean rated it really liked it

Shelves: memoir, autobiography, non-fiction, audio-book

Fowler wanted an adventure and to be alone with nature. She thought about climbing in the Andes Mountains, but then reality brought her to seek something closer to home.

Fowler bought a portable, inflatable kayak that she could put into a backpack to explore the canals of Birmingham. The author describes some of the canals that were built in the 1790s. Fowler describes the wildlife and plant life that grows along the banks and in the water. She tells of paddling through the Dudley tunnel and thr ...more

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Apr 17, 2017 Paul rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-read-2017, wainwright-prize, natural-history

Alys had always wanted to be an adventurer; someone who would climb mountains and forge rivers, sail and cycle to parts of the world that she had never been before. But life got in the way, she fell in love and married a penniless artist who sought to expand her mind and gave her a different way of looking at the world. A degree in science with an environmental element offered a perspective between the wild and the controlled. As her writing career blossomed a move to Birmingham presented itself Alys had always wanted to be an adventurer; someone who would climb mountains and forge rivers, sail and cycle to parts of the world that she had never been before. But life got in the way, she fell in love and married a penniless artist who sought to expand her mind and gave her a different way of looking at the world. A degree in science with an environmental element offered a perspective between the wild and the controlled. As her writing career blossomed a move to Birmingham presented itself with an opportunity to put down roots and make a garden of her own.

But after a while the call of the wild tugged at her still even deep in the city, a friends suggested sleeping under the stars or canoeing the canals. That struck a chord and a small inflatable canoe was acquired; the urban wilderness awaited her. Alys starts to explore the canals of Birmingham, discovering the beauty in the watery lines that criss-cross the city. It became an escape from her current life, a place where she could be free, so much so that her neat and tidy garden began to blur at the edges as weeds grew and slugs and snails resumed their relentless munching. These moments of solitude she came to cherish.

It was a time to rekindle old friendships too; she had known Sarah and Ming for a while and caught up with them for lunch. They bought their friend along, someone Alys knew a little, as she was a landscape designer. That moment of meeting Charlotte was to shatter her stable world and marriage for Alys had begun to fall in love with her. The moment of discovering her actual sexuality would be the toughest point of her life and separating from her husband who has cystic fibrosis would be the hardest decision to take.

Time alone in nature was what I needed most. It’s my reset button.

Fowler has written an honest, lyrical and whimsical memoir of her very personal journey. She has an incredible eye for detail seeing both the beautiful and the unsightly as she floats along the canals of Birmingham and occasionally London. The deep life changing events happening in her life means that she does get very introspective at times, analysing the tiniest details for meaning and understanding. You do feel for ‘H’ as he is left to drift, as Alys finds her new identity and way in the world. It is worthy addition to this new sub-genre of personal story tied into interaction with the natural world. ...more

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Feb 26, 2017 Melanie rated it it was amazing

I absolutely adored this. Not only is it lovely because as "washed in" Brummie, it's wonderful to read an ode to this place that is just perfect. BIrmingham may have many flaws but it is also really wonderful. Always imperfectly perfect, always changing and forever adapting to its changing fortunes. And what better way to explore Birmingham than on its canals in an inflatable kayak, getting into places no one can go, seeing the gongoozlers (someone who watches what's going on on the canal) on th ...more

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Aug 24, 2020 M. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I really don't know what to say, I knew it would hit and it did. It reads like life itself, and I'm grateful to Alys Fowler for sharing it with me. ...more

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Mar 09, 2018 Christopher Jones rated it it was amazing

Liquid gold ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Rush hour, tube, Alys Fowler, Hidden Nature, oasis, fed my soul beautifully X

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Mar 20, 2018 rosamund rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, lgbt

Alys Fowler writes beautifully about nature, particularly the minutiae of small plants, such as moss and lichens, and how they survive. Her writing is clear and precise as she gets across scientific concepts. This, however, is the strongest part of a book that strives to do a lot more. Fowler sets out to write about her journeys on the canals of Birmingham, and in doing so, to explore the end of her relationship with her husband following her realisation that she is a lesbian. It's hard to engag ...more

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Mar 27, 2017 Penelope rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, biography, natural-history, wainwright-prize

"The best maps are not published, are not accurate or even sensible, but are the maps we make ourselves about our cities, our kith and kin. These maps are made up of private details that allow us to navigate our past as much as our future terrain" - Alys Fowler

This is a book that I completely and utterly loved. On beginning it I wasn't quite sure what to expect but what I got was a book that was sumptuously lush, viscerally honest and elegantly crafted. From descriptions of minute canal side mos ...more

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May 06, 2017 Maya Panika rated it liked it

I love Alys Fowler’s garden writing, its always a delight, filled with lyricism and wonder, and I’d hoped she’d bring the same sense of joy and discovery to this book, which purports to be about adventuring by kayak through the neglected canals of her hometown of Birmingham. There is some of the former, but a great deal more is her discovery of her sexuality, about leaving her - very sick - husband for another woman and coming out as gay. This story is far and away the meat and potatoes of this I love Alys Fowler’s garden writing, its always a delight, filled with lyricism and wonder, and I’d hoped she’d bring the same sense of joy and discovery to this book, which purports to be about adventuring by kayak through the neglected canals of her hometown of Birmingham. There is some of the former, but a great deal more is her discovery of her sexuality, about leaving her - very sick - husband for another woman and coming out as gay. This story is far and away the meat and potatoes of this tale (and it’s something that is not even mentioned in the blurb) - so it was both surprising and disappointing and I’m afraid, for the most part, I was dreadfully bored.
I get the distinct feeling that what Alys really wanted to write about was her inner, very personal, journey to find herself as a lesbian. The nature journey is just a hook to hang all of this on via the rather tenuous link of it being two journeys, one inner, one outer. The chapters dealing with her canal journeys, the observations on nature and the changing of the seasons, try hard and occasionally touch the joie de vivre of her garden writing, but mostly, I found these passages lacklustre - even prosaic and pedestrian. They’re not why she’s written this book; this is not where her heart lies - at least this is what came across to me. The rest - her coming out tale - is where all her passion is; this is the story she really wants to tell, but it really wasn't a story that held any interest or appeal for me. All of this made the start of the story decidedly dull and I skipped quite a lot. It does come together more towards the end, when the two stories meld and become one and therefore more engaging (and why I upped my initial 2 stars to 3. It is worth staying with to the end). But as a whole - I have to say, I really wasn't very engaged or even interested; I can barely remember any details of the book at all, now I’ve finished it. The only thing that has really stayed with me is how terribly sorry I was for her poor husband, which is not, I suspect, what the author intended. Amazon currently has this book classified under sports, hobbies, active pursuits, when really it should be under gay and lesbian, where it will hopefully catch a more engaged audience. ...more

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Sep 14, 2020 Sophy H rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fabulous-favourites, outdoor-nature

A very interesting mix of nature journal/outdoor adventure/personal memoir.

The writing here is heartfelt and honest, with Alys's discussion of coming out and ending her marriage as raw and candid as it gets.

Alys manages to make us fall in love with the often disused waterways of modern Birmingham, and their flora and fauna that make these watery passageways their home.

Captivating, enchanting, and enthralling writing. ...more

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May 19, 2017 Bethwyn Badger rated it really liked it

Shelves: review-books

find my review here: http://butterfly-elephant.blogspot.co... ...more

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Mar 30, 2018 Nin rated it liked it

Shelves: sapphic

As of yet still unsure what to make of this; some beautiful passages, but honestly this is a book of two total disjointed stories, Fowler is trying to run the two alongside each other to form one collective narrative, when really the only thing linking the nature and sexuality aspects is that she happened to have a hobby at the same time she realised she was gay. To be honest, there is little indication she realises she is gay, as she literally doesn't mention it until she says she tells her hus ...more

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Sep 07, 2020 Chris rated it liked it

I've been exploring the radial waterways of Birmingham over the last 3-4 years by foot and was quite familiar with the landscape Alys navigates. Small factual variations (deviations?) made me raise my eyebrows a little and reminded me that this is a memoir rather than waterways report, but her description of the uplifting power of the 'edge' is echoed resoundingly by my personal experience and smoothed over the wrinkles.

The only thing that moves the rating a touch lower is the breathy tone of h ...more

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Jul 15, 2018 Eleanor (bookishcourtier) marked it as dnf · review of another edition

look, I'm DNFing this one right here. I have been reading it for so long, and nothing about it really made me care. I hate to criticise someone's memoir, but this was not great. Just, the whole travelling around canals was kind of dull. The writing wasn't beautiful, but the thing that made me really really angry was the chapter that I just read. It was very insensitive and I do not want to read on in a book that I wasn't interested in anyway and that I now have no desire to pick up again. ...more

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Mar 01, 2022 Allison Clough rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobook, memoir, nature

The nature writing was lovely at times, interesting information about canals, but I think I had hoped for a bit more about the internal struggle and detail about the realisation of true sexuality. This was all very brief and very surface level. Whilst I can appreciate the desire to keep things private, a book about coming out could have been more useful to other questioning people if it was a bit more open.

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Dec 22, 2021 Martha rated it liked it

An autobiography of Alys exploring the canals of Birmingham in a canoe and a series of life changing events.
I did enjoy some aspects, the cover was nice, the descriptions of certain flora/fauna and initial rides in the canoe was nice. But sadly it became a bit repetitive and language used at time felt a wee bit basic, resulting in a lack of investment.

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Apr 25, 2017 Rosie Evans rated it liked it

An interesting mix of memoir, travel and nature writing which gently carries the reader along not just Birmingham's canals but the authors' mind on her journey of self discovery and change. ...more

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Aug 04, 2018 Natalie (CuriousReader) added it · review of another edition

Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize 2018.
My Video Review: https://youtu.be/KAzJ3EMopmo ...more

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Aug 15, 2018 Mia-rosa Green rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction-faves

This is quite possibly my favourite non-fiction book that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Alys Fowler is a wonderful woman and I felt as if I resided inside the tangle of her ginger hair, peering into her thoughts all the way through this book.
I am a nature lover and a gardener and have read her newspaper columns for years and class her 'Thrifty Forager/Gardener' books as gardening bibles. However, in this auto-biographical text it was her self reflective paragraphs that I held onto mo ...more

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Feb 26, 2020 Christine rated it really liked it

A beautifully written piece of creative non-fiction. It's important to take into consideration when approaching this book for the first time that it is not LGBT or non-fiction, Alys Fowler did not intend to write an autobiographical book or to focus the book on her coming out story. Fowler has done what she does best, she has written about nature and has used the natural world to represent her feelings about coming out at 37 years of age. Like any other freelance writer, she wanted to get publis A beautifully written piece of creative non-fiction. It's important to take into consideration when approaching this book for the first time that it is not LGBT or non-fiction, Alys Fowler did not intend to write an autobiographical book or to focus the book on her coming out story. Fowler has done what she does best, she has written about nature and has used the natural world to represent her feelings about coming out at 37 years of age. Like any other freelance writer, she wanted to get published and paid and already had a publisher for her gardening books. Her coming out story is in the background but does drive the novel forward, Fowler finds herself while paddling in an inflatable dinghy along Birmingham's canal network.

I love some of the words Fowler uses, such as 'gongoozler' which is bargees slang (p23) and she frequently uses the beautiful word 'pearlescent'. I learnt a lot about Birmingham from reading this, as a Brummie it felt refreshing to be given such microscopic information about places I've been to but not given much thought about. For example, Fowler writes 'Titford Reservoir, another natural pool widened in the late eighteenth century, feeds into Edgbaston Reservoir, as do several other side streams and small pools. The Industrial Revolution tamed Birmingham's streams, pools and springs and fed them ruthlessly into the canals' (p25). And I had no idea blackberries came from the rose family: 'Blackberries come from the rose family' (115) or that 'Kazakhstan' was 'the birthplace of the apple' (140). Moreover, I love the section on eels on page 170 and the same with pigeons on page 182.

For me, Fowler described in microscopic detail the fine things in life we take for granted, the quotidian occurrences, objects and life. The things that are in front of us but we never see. She illuminated Birmingham's vibrant history, the positives of its canal network and how it has been greatly neglected. Furthermore, Fowler may have not explicitly set out to do this and it is another background story: she conveyed Birmingham's LGBT community in a positive light through the strength and compassion shown from her friends Ming and Sarah who accepted her, even though she was not sure whether she was a lesbian or bisexual and had been in a heterosexual relationship for so many years. I greatly enjoyed reading this book, almost read it in one sitting and the only criticism I give is that pictures of her boat, places she'd visited and a map would have been nice. And at times it seems unbelievable that she was able to fit so much into a small inflatable dinghy: her bike, herself, another human and this is where pictures of her boat would have been relevant. Otherwise, I recommend this book to all nature lovers and even people who simply wish to know more about Birmingham. ...more

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Jun 22, 2018 Andrew Cox rated it it was amazing

I found this book an absolute delight. 2 memoirs in a row but so different. This is a voyage of discovery, possibly more of a personal nature than of nature.
The writing is poetic, her thoughts intriguing as she looks at herself in both a detached & intimate way.
I sometimes get extremely frustrated with myself for not being more adventurous in my exploration of the world & clearly Fowler (like O'Farrell in the previous memoir I read) has travelled widely. However the idea of discovering beauty i ...more

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Sep 03, 2018 Julian Walker rated it liked it · review of another edition

A real journey of discovery on multiple fronts, filled with great descriptions and evocative imagery.

The author cleverly intertwines her own personal discovery, with historical perspectives, the pace of change and observations on flora and fauna - making this a delight to delve into on many fronts.

I am inspired to get a pack raft and head out onto the canals near me.

A thoroughly enjoyable read.

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Jun 07, 2018 Kate F rated it it was amazing

Alys Fowler writes beautifully; about nature, about adventure, and about the life-changing events of her own personal journey. 'Hidden Nature' is part nature journal, part autobiography, in which she combines ecology, philosophy, poetry and self-reflection into a unique, emotive and mesmerising work. ...more

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Jun 11, 2020 Siobhan rated it it was amazing

Really enjoyed reading this!

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Aug 18, 2017 Sharon rated it liked it

Just not enough nature in it for me. More like a journal of self discovery I thought. Beautiful cover.

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Oct 23, 2019 Gary Chadbourne rated it did not like it

I am a selfish rich kid who has dumped my chronically ill husband because I can’t be arsed.
That covers it.

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Jan 05, 2021 Kim Hall rated it it was ok

Firstly, I feel like I only write reviews when a book has disappointed me a little, something I should probably remedy. In my defence, I don't usually review DNFs or books I really hated, just those which I think were a missed opportunity. Secondly, I came to this with an awareness of Alys Fowler and as someone who really enjoyed her TV show and who owns and likes her gardening books. I was also really interested in the idea of exploring a city from its waterways as well as Alys' experience of r Firstly, I feel like I only write reviews when a book has disappointed me a little, something I should probably remedy. In my defence, I don't usually review DNFs or books I really hated, just those which I think were a missed opportunity. Secondly, I came to this with an awareness of Alys Fowler and as someone who really enjoyed her TV show and who owns and likes her gardening books. I was also really interested in the idea of exploring a city from its waterways as well as Alys' experience of realising she is gay and then coming out in her mid-thirties. Essentially, on the surface it all sounded like this would be an easy win for me.

The problems I had with this book fall into two broad categories - the confused scope of this memoir; and the writing style.

For a book which clocks in at just over 200 pages, it really tried to do a lot. There's the canal exploration, the breakdown of her marriage and subsequent coming out, and lots of natural history which is peppered throughout. This is simply too much for so few pages. I feel that the natural history sections should have been cut completely to allow for the book to build around the other two themes.
I was genuinely very sad to find that Fowler's writing style grated on me quite this much. But, as much as I wanted to love this book, I couldn't get away from the fact that the weaving together of the three themes was so clunky. In fact, I couldn't even really describe it as woven - one anecdote or passage of natural history would stop abruptly and the author would start the next paragraph talking about something completely different. The most frustrating example of this was a tale around a narrow boat race she took part it, there's lots of description and build up and then, just when you're expecting the conclusion of the anecdote - how her team fared, how it made her and her friends feel - we start a new paragraph talking about something entirely unrelated. I felt as though I had been momentarily drawn into her life before being summarily kicked out again, an all-too-common feeling whilst reading this book. To be honest, if the book had been any longer I would have given up after the narrow boat race.

I persisted with this book because I was interested in Fowler's personal story but I actually felt that the parts detailing this were quite shallow. I suspect that it may have been too soon and too raw for this to be written with genuine emotion. Instead you hear lots of description of the author breaking down into tears, but, not wanting to sounded uncaring, I thought that these descriptions were almost like emotion by proxy; as though by describing the physical manifestation of her emotions she did not have to actually write about and explore what was happening on a deeper level.

I know this review sounds harsh, but I think that's because my expectations were so high. I think the author would do a better job of a memoir with the gift of time and a braver editor who could strip the natural history out.

Unfortunately, other authors do the natural history stuff much better - at one stage Fowler describes the migration and breeding patterns of eels. Coincidentally, I recently listened to a podcast episode on this topic and was enthralled by their telling of it. Not so here, for such a mysterious, hidden story of nature, Fowler made it all sound very flat. (But do look up the RadioLab episode entitled Silky Love, it's great!)

I would love for Fowler to let a decade pass and then try telling this story again. I feel bad that I didn't like this book more, so I will also reiterate that her old BBC gardening show and related books are excellent! ...more

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Feb 07, 2017 Chantal Lyons rated it really liked it

I am a glutton for nature writing, so I happily snapped this one up. While it never soared, except for one moment, it was an enjoyable, satisfying read.

Fans of Rob Cowen's "Common Ground", one of those shortlisted for last year's Wainwright Prize (and the book that should have won) will sense a kinship in "Hidden Nature". The canals are edges, literally, metaphorically and biologically. And emotionally, as it turns out, perhaps unsurprisingly - I can very happily read a book that is totally abou I am a glutton for nature writing, so I happily snapped this one up. While it never soared, except for one moment, it was an enjoyable, satisfying read.

Fans of Rob Cowen's "Common Ground", one of those shortlisted for last year's Wainwright Prize (and the book that should have won) will sense a kinship in "Hidden Nature". The canals are edges, literally, metaphorically and biologically. And emotionally, as it turns out, perhaps unsurprisingly - I can very happily read a book that is totally about nature, but this one is deeply autobiographical, which I appreciated to lesser and greater degrees , as I'll explain later.

Fowler is a career gardener, a botanist in all but name, so the narrative is packed with plant names and - practically the "badge" of nature writing - Latin names. I love that kind of thing though - you can cram all those names into your mind like nourishment. Snapdragon. Star-headed liverwort. Achillea. Water mint. And while there is a lot of humanness in this book, and human drama, Fowler makes some delightful digressions to focus on the life cycles and biology of particular species for: buddleia (called buddleja in the book); moss; water lilies; eels. She'll describe howling out her pain on the canal under a motorway, then suddenly tell us how a particular plant reproduces. She portions out her love to fauna too - there are herons and pikes and bees aplenty.

Back to the emotional/human drama thing. I won't spoil anything, but Fowler's story takes an interesting turn about a third of the way through. Her new journeys on the canal, in a quirk of the universe, mirror the new journey of her life. I wasn't quite prepared for the intensity of it, and it did throw me off a little. I also could never shake off a sense of silliness reading about the "little warrior" she describes as residing within herself. I think much of the language she used to present her internal conflict just didn't work for me, and I could only read about so much crying and howling before I was as desperate for respite in mosses and wildflowers as the author was.

Still, "Hidden Nature" took me on an adventure, as any good book should, and I will remember it with fondness. ...more

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Jun 02, 2018 Ape rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: england, biographies-memoirs

I loved so many aspects of this book. It is a homage to small adventures, to discovering your local area, to the fact that you don't need to go to the other side of the world to discover something wonderful, to see how nature can thrive in all kinds of environments. And to quirky little projects.

This is about Alys Fowler, who lives in Birmingham, and decides to buy herself a little canoe/kayak boat and explore all the canalways of Birmingham. Yeah. I don't know Birmingham that well, but the litt I loved so many aspects of this book. It is a homage to small adventures, to discovering your local area, to the fact that you don't need to go to the other side of the world to discover something wonderful, to see how nature can thrive in all kinds of environments. And to quirky little projects.

This is about Alys Fowler, who lives in Birmingham, and decides to buy herself a little canoe/kayak boat and explore all the canalways of Birmingham. Yeah. I don't know Birmingham that well, but the little I've seen did not inspire me to go back, and honestly I find pulling in to Birmingham train station like pulling into purgatory. So when I saw this was exploring Birmingham, I did feel a little like... really? But it was wonderful, learning about the history of the canalways, the nature she sees, from her love of plants, to the moss, the slimemould, the fish and the birds and learning all about them. And to the seemingly random sights, such as all these coconuts she kept seeing floating about in the canals, and eventually finding out via a random conversation with a random passerby that those coconuts are connected to Hindu tradition, and not actually as random as they seem.

Randomly I really found it calming how she let her garden go to pot during the year she was doing this personal project. I'm not paddling the canalways of anywhere, infact I am sort of house bound at the moment (another reason I loved this book for being able to mentally escape and explore those canals) and my own garden is becoming an increasing mess I have neither the time nor energy to deal with. But to read that an avid gardener such as Alys, left her garden to go to seed for a year and it wasn't the end of the world, was reassuring.

As well as an account of her exploring her local area, this is also an intensely open and honest memoir about the year in her life, when at 37 (same age as me now) she discovers herself, and goes through the turmoil of realising she is gay, and having to see her marriage disolve, and all the guilt and confusion that comes with that. ...more

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Sep 12, 2020 Emily rated it really liked it

Shelves: lgbtq, women, nature

I enjoyed reading 'H is for Hawk' and also 'The January Man', so no surprise that I enjoyed this - with its mixture of the natural world and the personal world, grieving and exploring both internally and externally. Fowler's and her friends' knowledge of plant and animal life is deep - and her love of nature in the city deep too, so there are shades of Richard Mabey here as she fights against breakdown.

This story of grief and renewal comes with a twist - it is about the break up of Alys's marria ...more

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About Alys Fowler

Alys Fowler

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Alys Fowler is a gardener who loves food. She has an allotment and an urban back garden with two chickens, lots of flowers and plenty of vegetables. She is author of several books and writes a weekly column on gardening for the Guardian.