There Is a Season: A Memoir

By Patrick Lane

Book Overview

Believed by many to be one of the finest poets of his generation, Patrick Lane is also a passionate gardener. He lives on Vancouver Island, a place of uncommon beauty, where the climate is mild, the air is soft, and the growing season lasts nearly all year long. Lane has gardened for as long as he can remember, and sees his garden's life as intertwined with his own. And when he gave up drinking, after years of addiction, he found solace and healing in tending to his yard. In this exquisitely written memoir, he relates stories of his hard early life in the context of the landscape he's created. As he observes the seasonal changes, a plant or a bird or the way a tree bends in the wind brings to mind an episode from his storied past. Lane writes evocative descriptions of the animals, birds, insects, and plants that are his garden, and of the relationship he has to them all. Accompany Lane as he wanders his garden, where botanical "madeleines" release in him a flood of memory.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0771046340
• ISBN13: 9780771046346
• Release Date: February 2005
• Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

brilliant... haunting

A previous reviewer writes that this is a "man's book." I have absolutely no idea what this means and really don't think that it does the book justice. The book, if anything, is work of pure poetry. It is a book of love, love for life and for beauty. If is a book of memory and of tragedy and of hope. If there is any book I recommend for both men and women, it is this book!

This is a Real Man's Book

"There is a Season" is most definitely a Man’s book. It is an autobiography that is written with such a gut-wrenching honesty, it will provide catharsis for all who read it. The book follows the author through a year in the life of his garden, and through flashbacks we learn of his battles with alcohol and drug abuse, along with the inevitable demons that haunt us all. If you read no other work by Patrick Lane, read this one – twice.