Gold in the Grass

As World War II comes to an end, an injured Canadian veteran and his nurse fall in love, marry and purchase a worn out, run down 100 acre farm near Ontario; they dream of a quiet country life. Gold in the Grass: Rags to Riches Through Soil Reclamation and Sustainable Farming - A Back-to-the-Land Adventure from 1954 by Margaret L Leatherbarrow is their story. While their neighbors are making bets as to how long they will last, they transform a non-producing farm into their private Utopia using sustainable agriculture. It is a heartwarming story. I would have never picked it up. My husband purchased it. His review is here.

In my opinion, this book fails as a how-to book. It isn't written as a manual. It is an autobiography written by a woman passionate about the life she and her husband built together. What kept me reading was Leatherbarrow's wisdom. I felt like I was reading a book written by an older woman who was sharing a lifetime of knowledge. I was surprised when I got to the last page of the book. The book was written only 7 years after she and her husband began her adventure. Leatherbarrow must have still been fairly young. Much younger than I am now.

Yet, she has something to say about:

God:

"God said I am the Truth. He did not say I am what you choose to believe." (page 68)

It would e more correct to say Jesus said I am the Truth (John:6). Most Christians would recognize this as one of the "I AM" assertions of Christ. But, I believe Jesus is God incarnate, I fully agree with her assessment. A real God has real attributes and power. His activities are just as real. When I choose to make him little enough to fit in my brain or to my agenda, his attributes do not change to fit my mind picture. I am just not nearly powerful enough to control who and what God is. It is my responsibility to get to know the real God.

Human Nature: Early in their adventure, while still struggling, seasoned farmers refused to share their knowledge with them. Leatherbarrow writes:

"The secretiveness borne of greed, a common trait of man all through our civilization, keeps us grovelling like the miserable creatures our greed has made us become. We war with one another, be it the individual or the entire race, having lost faith to such an extent we can't trust one another any more. In church we pray for blessings individually. In or homes we seek the comforts we desire with no care for the individual or community good. We will take ever by force, yet give nothing." (page 128)

Disability Acceptance:

"There is no point in attempting something you are not physically capable of accomplishing. A healthy individual is one who, recognizing this handicap, accepts it and works according to his ability, not focing himself to do what is impossible, just because he'd like to be able to do it." (page 168)

It was her shared wisdom that made the book worth reading. My husband gave the book 5-stars. I would not. My rating scheme doesn't make allowances for giving every book a 5-star rating. That rating is saved for those books whose content makes me think about something a new way and changes who I am. Gold in the Grass did not. Neither would I give it 4-stars. In my economy this is a three star book, a book I would recommend you bring to read while you lie in the sun, wait for your car to be repaired, recover from surgery or escape from the stressors of your real life. A book that is entirely delightful but not life changing.