To Everything There Is A Season
by By Miller, Alice G.
Category: Biography & Autobiography , Social Scientists & Psychologists

To Everything There is a Season is a joyous and sometimes light-hearted account of a psychotherapist and her creation of a woodland garden which slowly evolved into a spiritual place of growth for the soul. The author shares her hands-on experience of planning, planting and nurturing a garden of beauty and serenity. The result is a celebration of the joys of being at one with the earth. With sensitivity and warmth, Alice Miller shows us how to make it all happen as she moves with ease from horticulture to humor to spirituality. This is a story about garden paths — themselves a metaphor for life. The book begins with the gardens of youth and then moves on to the creation of a real woodland garden and the author's subsequent spiritual journey. These garden paths serve as a vehicle for guiding the reader through the growing process, both literally and metaphorically. The story is told not in the abstract but rather in a personal and self-disclosing narrative. At the core of this book is a strong Judeo-Christian perspective. This view may not, however, always qualify as spiritual in the "traditional" sense. This perspective is more like life itself, as the author shares both amusing as well as profound experiences. Her humor is firmly grounded, however, in substantial and universal beliefs. Threaded through the later chapters are themes of laughter, prayer, grace and faith. The author also addresses her increasing awareness that our earthly environment must be considered as more than a "gift," but also as a sacred trust to be preserved for future generations. It is the author's intention that at the close of this book, readers will find themselves wanting to follow the path of their own garden journey. For, clearly, the message of this book is that there is a garden within each of us, simply waiting to happen.