By Theresa Weir
Grand Central Publishing, $ 24.99, 227 pages
ISBN 9780446584692

Theresa Weir met and married her husband, Adrian Curtis, at flashpoint speed, going from bartender to farm wife in such record time that it left her spinning. Rejected by her young husband’s family as well as her own, the struggle of this street-savvy city girl to adapt to the strange and often dangerous life with the virtual stranger she married, and adapt to the loneliness and futility of farm life, is mesmeric.

At its core, The Orchard is an inspiring and heartbreaking tale of a woman’s journey from rootless wanderer and borderline alcoholic, to farm wife and mother, to author. Apples, chemicals, and in-laws flavor this memoir of the American heartland as Weir peels away the layers of the idolized farm life in one long strand and leaves bare the starred core heart of farm, heritage, family, love, and endurance. The strength of character in this novel is astounding, as well as the reports of chemical abuses and the impact it takes on families. You’ll never be able to look an apple the same way again.

Reviewed by Axie Barclay