4-STAR REVIEW: THE SEEKERS’ GARDEN by Isa Pearl Ritchie

Publication Date: August 16, 2021

If you stand still for long enough, the past catches up with you…

Leaving behind the fragments of her old life, Marcia Reed-Wilton crosses the world to return to her dilapidated childhood home and dig up the weeds of the past.

Next door, Mrs Everglade struggles to maintain her independence in spite of her increasing frailty.

Sixteen-year-old Lea escapes into her poetry to cope with depression until meeting Alex, a much more potent distraction.

Meanwhile, Iris leaves her career on a whim to embark on an adventure of an entirely different kind; moving to a sleepy seaside town to write a book.

On the other side of the world in opposite seasons, Zane, vocalist for a popular band is haunted by cryptic dreams that lead him home.

A few twists of fate and a buried secret leave these individuals deeply and unexpectedly connected.

The Seekers’ Garden is a lush and captivating exploration of loss, growth and spirituality, revealing the way connections form in unlikely places.

Told from the perspectives of five main characters, The Seekers’ Garden by Isa Pearl Ritchie is a profound story about life and its many challenges. While these characters may seem to have nothing in common on the surface, they unknowingly share a bond.

The story begins with a focus on Marcia, who is a widow. She has recently inherited her childhood home and returns to find an overgrown and unkempt garden. She spends countless hours restoring it, always having to be watchful for a new weed or some other threat.

To illustrate a real-life garden, the author uses the five characters—a middle-aged widow, an elderly woman, a budding author, a musician, and a teen girl. Each person faces numerous challenges (weeds or pests) and learns vital lessons along the way. Several of the characters use journals to express their feelings. There is a strong sense of holistic wellbeing demonstrated in the story, in addition to dream interpretation.

The story’s appeal comes from the secrets that unfold, tying the characters together unexpectedly. Each character comes to life, especially their frustrations. Whether it’s Iris and her efforts to tap into her inner writer or Mrs. Everglade, who has landed in the geriatric hospital after another fall, their personalities shine through thanks to the author’s shift in tone between each segment.

The Seekers’ Garden provides a thought-provoking story that uses relationships to promote self-healing, just like a real garden needs attention in order to flourish.

Isa Pearl Ritchie is a New Zealand writer with a PhD in social science. She writes adults and for young people. Her novel Fishing for Māui was named one of the best books of 2018 in The Listener Magazine and was a finalist in the NZ Booklovers awards2019. She has also written articles for The Spinoff, Pantograph Punch and Organic NZ. Isa lives in Wellington.

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