Gather & Make was the winner in the Third Place Winner in the Non-Fiction category of the 2019 IndieReader Discovery Awards, where undiscovered talent meets people with the power to make a difference.
Following find an interview with author Genevieve Layman.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Gather & Make, published fall 2018
What’s the book’s first line?
It all started with the frogs – thousands of tiny frogs all over that big log down by Black Pine Lake.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
Gather & Make is an award winning, newly published, one-of-a-kind book. The book provides step-by-step instructions for activities that encourage lively engagement with plants. Three easy-to-create, affordable activities are featured for every month of the year. Each activity in Gather & Make is carefully selected to harmonize with the rhythms of the season in a way that connects us to plants and nature around us. Gather & Make offers useful tips for planting and maintaining all the plants featured in the book, including useful gardening guidelines and techniques.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
As a horticultural therapist, I often lead groups where there is a focus on deepening ones’ connection to the natural world through meaningful engagement with plants and the seasons. Often, when I travel to various mental health and eldercare facilities to lead horticultural therapy groups there is excitement not just from the identified participants, but from the hardworking caregivers, volunteers, and staff as well. The interest and desire to act creatively with plants is a deeply human experience and I wanted to create a book that would be accessible to everyone and provide some inspiration and guidance in this type of creative expression.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
My book removes the barriers between plants and people, revealing they already are experts at connecting with the natural world. When we tune into the vast landscape of life around us we experience an array of physical, cognitive, psychological and social benefits. Gather & Make offers a roadmap to creative expression with the plant world, accessing these benefits and more.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
Yes!
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I am a Registered Horticultural Therapist practicing in Portland, Oregon.