The More You Read

This isn’t a story about french gossip…just so you know.  It is truly about French Dirt.  Richard Goodman and his girlfriend live in New York and decide to do something a little crazy and spend a year in a village in the south of France.  After eight months of working hard to save money and preparing in what ways they could, this couple finds themselves at a stone home in St. Sebastien de Caisson with a population of 211 people.  This village is so small that there are no shops, no stores.  The shops travel to the village to sell their goods.

After a slow start in getting to know the villagers, other than a friendly Spanish couple, Richard decides to go to work in the vineyards of the villagers.  In doing this he makes friends and ends up with a small plot of land of his own.  His first garden.  And he works hard tilling the land, watering, weeding and growing.  Learning lessons as he goes but also cultivating friendships through conversation about his garden.   Such as whether it’s better to water in the morning before the sun comes up or evening as it’s going down.

Throughout this story Richard discusses how the act of owning and tending to his garden brings him closer to the earth, to the weather, just more invested in his surroundings.  This is a lesson I think that we could all learn.  Seeing the importance, joy, tragedy in the sun or rain is something I can forget.  This love story made me want to get out and dig and plant and experience these simple pleasures.

Trackback URL

France, Gardening, Memoir, Richard Goodman