This memoir is at once hard and heart-breaking, beautiful and uplifting. The way the chapters were each prefaced by a specific plant, with folklore and herblore and a special resinance with the part of Victoria’s story that followed was an absolutely fantastic way to structure the book. I found in these pages life lessons that I, too, had received (in different ways) some I’d learnt, some I was learning and some that I hadn’t recognised until I saw them here. It was moving and heartfelt and contained such strong spirit of place and people that there were parts I felt in my soul as I read. 

It left me with a sense of wonder, of magic, and of sisterhood that I hadn’t thought possible to get from paper and ink and it is another book that I know I will be returning to again and again. I also really appreciated the list of books in the back, offering a place to start your own apothecary library should you have been inspired to do so.