The Earth in Her Hands

75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants

By: Jennifer Jewell

Narrated by: Cindy Kay

In this beautiful and empowering book, Jennifer Jewell - host of public radio's award-winning program and podcast Cultivating Place - introduces 75 inspiring women. Working in wide-reaching fields that include botany, floral design, landscape architecture, farming, herbalism, and food justice, these influencers are creating change from the ground up. Profiled women include flower farmer Erin Benzakein; codirector of Soul Fire Farm Leah Penniman; plantswoman Flora Grubb; edible and cultural landscape designer Leslie Bennett; Caribbean American writer and gardener Jamaica Kincaid; soil scientist Elaine Ingham; landscape designer Ariella Chezar; floral designer Amy Merrick, and many more. Rich with personal stories and insights, Jewell's portraits reveal a devotion that transcends age, locale, and background, reminding us of the profound role of green growing things in our world - and our lives.

©2020 Jennifer Jewell (P)2021 Tantor

good news - women can succeed in the plant world

be a garden person for seeds and plants. a book full of the stories of these plant people and their beginnings and current work and views. great resource.

Nice list of people

Pretty good book but very dry in places. The performance was frequently confusing. Pauses would help. That’s on the director, production staff, and performer. Chapter breaks were missed frequently and I had to back to the start of it. The final section in each chapter was a list of inspiring people. The chapter just starts with the name of the next woman and it just sounds like the next inspiring person in the list. Yes the book text has it laid out that way. But there is a visual cue in the book. The performance needs something to mimic that cue.
The book needs to be laid out better. I had to put it down many times because the layout made it repetitive. Maybe sort the folks by what they are known for—like photographers and have an introductory section to break it up
Now for my biggest issue with the book. The book starts with diversity as a big thing and that this book is going to correct those wrongs. But just like everything else that makes a big deal of it, the book is not only not diverse, but goes out of its way to be highly discriminatory. This goes to the saying “what is the first indication that a company is not diverse? They have an executive position of chief diversity officer”

political agenda

The political agenda is promoted far more than the women. A waste of my time.