A Field of My Own

Pull on your boots and take a walk with Cynthia McVay and her dogs-consummate hosts and guides, in a riveting landscape rife with adventure and discovery. In A Field of My Own: A Memoir of Place, lifelong creative and environmentalist McVay chronicles her intimate, two-decade relationship with a flagging orchard in the Hudson Valley. As a single working mother seeking a weekend escape from New York City, one blustery winter day, she falls in love with a meadow and her life is forever altered. She renovates the modest cottage, builds a pondish-pool, creates pollinating, native gardens from orphans and strays, learns to forage and runs the tractor. A decade in, as architect and general contractor, she moves an enormous hand-hewn Amish barn to the property to make her sustainable home. Snarky contractors, an alcoholic partner, puzzling neighbors, concerning caretakers, black rat snakes and coyote chases are minor setbacks; each day brings joy and serenity. This generous, honest and engaging memoir is packed with useful know-how. McVay's writing is vibrant and her photos evocative.