'Breathtakingly beautiful' i
'Tender and wholehearted' Helen Jukes

LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE INDEPENDENT, FINANCIAL TIMES, I and GARDENS ILLUSTRATED

When she suddenly finds herself uprooted, heartbroken, grieving and living out of a suitcase in her late twenties, Alice Vincent begins planting seeds. She nurtures pot plants and vines on windowsills and draining boards, filling her many temporary London homes with green. As the months pass, and with each unfurling petal and budding leaf, she begins to come back to life.

Mixing memoir, botanical history and biography, Rootbound examines how bringing a little bit of the outside in can help us find our feet in a world spinning far too fast.

"Breathtakingly beautiful writing about the natural world . . . Vincent's championing of female gardeners from eras past is both cheering and fascinating . . . Rootbound is a story of growth" - * i *

"This memoir has the potential to be the millennials' answer to Eat Pray Love" - * Daily Telegraph *

"Rootbound is a poignant testimony to the joy that greenery will bring to your life, and it is a magical reminder that humans, like plants, can mend and grow in their own good time" - * Independent *

"A book about heartbreak, salvation, nature and balcony gardens . . . Alice Vincent mixes memoir with botanical history to explore how plants can heal us" - * Huffington Post *

"A deeply personal exploration of the healing power of plants" - * Independent *

"There are riffs on everything from famous women gardeners to the history of New York's wondrous High Line elevated linear park . . . Rootbound gives a revealing insight into Alice's generation, their concerns, self-absorption and earnestness. It also radiates a youthful enthusiasm and optimism, a hunger to reconnect with nature even in the midst of a sea of concrete, and the refreshing belief that anything is possible. Millenials, in particular, will love it" - * Daily Mail *

"Heartbreak can be the best teacher . . . [A] hopeful memoir of self-discovery and horticulture . . . A beguiling bouquet whose vibrancy feels extra welcome as the first green shoots of spring start to show" - * Mail on Sunday *