From the Ground Up: A Food Grower’s Education in Life, Love and the Movement That’s Changing the Nation

Following a restless childhood and adolescence in the affluent Chicago suburb of Winnetka, Nolan and her boyfriend set off for the Southwest as soon as she graduated from high school in 1987, ultimately landing at the Zendik Farm, a hippie commune. Nolan spent over a decade in this idiosyncratically controlled environment in which free love was encouraged, but close relationships weren’t. She and her young daughter (whom she had with a friend at the commune) ultimately left the nomadic commune, returning home to live with her parents and to nurse her wounds and figure out her next steps. Realizing that her organic gardening skills could be useful, Nolan established the Organic Gardner, a company whose aim is to teach clients how to grow organic vegetables in their own gardens. The concept caught on, and she soon found herself with a rapidly growing company. The narrative thread about her experiences as an organic entrepreneur is told in conjunction with the stories of her courtship with a fellow Zendik resident whom she eventually married, her creation of the 5,000 sq. ft. Edible Gardens at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo, and her efforts to repair her fractured relationship with her immediate family. These episodes, along with flashbacks to the commune, make for a disjointed read, but Nolan’s enthusiasm for bettering the world is charming and infectious. Agent: Kimberly Witherspoon, InkWell Management. (July)