Have you ever started a book and realize that you’ve already read it? This is what happened with this book – and it’s really the reason why I’m writing this blog! I lose track of what I’ve read already – and now that I’m blogging, hopefully it won’t happen again… This book is intriguing, though, and I ended up reading it again anyway.
It is actually a memoir, the story of Theresa Weir, a young woman with a rocky past, who worked and actually lived in her uncle’s bar. She meets Adrian, a young, handsome apple farmer whose farm was rumored to be cursed. Theresa, usually guarded, is taken by Adrian’s innocence and they begin a whirlwind romance that no one anticipates will last. Theresa learns gradually what is at the root of the “curse” of the farm and she fights along with Adrian to try to overcome the history of the farm (guarded severely by Adrian’s hideous mother) to save themselves and their family.
What is important here is the message, which is that pure greed has led to the enlargement of farms and the use of toxic chemicals to achieve the “perfect” specimen of produce. A key line in the book says something to the effect of man needing to work with nature not against it in order to grow the food he needs. Adrian’s mother insists on perpetuating the use of pesticides on their farm, even in light of the deaths and miscarriages that have occurred there because of the chemicals. And nothing convinces her otherwise, even the death of those close to her.
It is a story very close to my heart – as I agree that there is insurmountable evidence that pesticides are toxic. The more we work with nature and not against it, the better!