This was the first book I read as a 29 year old and I am so so glad that I did. I listened to it in one sitting, on a slow Sunday morning with my coffee.. My Life in Plants is very sweet and powerful. As a plant lover, I was intrigued by the premise of connecting life memories with the flowers and plants that accompany them. I found myself thinking about times in my life where flowers or plants were front and center (when I lived in my first rental home, bringing home my first succulent, successfully planting sunflowers and having them bloom large and stunning, the flowers we had at my Nana's funeral, etc.). Vaz has a refreshing way of telling a story and I could have listened to another few hours of her experiences. The narrator's voice was relaxing and incredibly comforting.

I recommend this book highly to those who love gardening, flowers, and exploring their relationship with both.

Thank you to Vaz, Andrews McMeel Audio & Netgalley for the ALC in exchange for an unbiased review.

The way this story lifted you along time and time again anchoring the growth of the story with plants was poetic. I really enjoyed this book. It was a short read but well preformed and written. Thank you for letting me read this.

I listened to the audioversion of this book via Netgalley.

This was a sweet, easy listen as the author shares moments of her life through various plants! It is a fun way of looking back at her life and how certain plants remind her of some events and family members. She had a happy upbringing so there's lots of throwbacks to her parents or grandparents introducing her to different aspects of gardening and how, now she is older, she has learnt to appreciate those little moments more and a slower pace of life that a lot of gardening gives you.

Each chapter is very short and snappy and the whole audiobook only lasted for an hour and a half, so it's a little potted (no pun intended!) history of events in her life that have made her the person she is today. From school days, to living abroad by herself, to married life, I found it really easy to listen to and enjoyed her honesty about her flaws!!

So I went on a whole journey with this book! I listened to the audio version here on Netgalley, so I didn't get to see the illustrations the author mentions in the back of the book.

At first, I thought the book was fine, but maybe not for me. Maybe I wasn't the target audience. It's pleasant enough, I thought, but doesn't really delve deeply into the experiences she had with plants, people and life lessons. But, I thought as I listened, I really like the chapter on her prom and the one about her grandpa and his tomatoes.

As I continued to listen to the book and her stories on what sounded like a very supportive, happy family, I wondered if there was any conflict the author might mention. As the memoir continued, things started to come together and it became apparent that one of the author’s greatest struggles is living in the moment and enjoying moments as they are.

That’s when it also became clear to me that this memoir is really a love letter to mindfulness.

It’s a sweet little book on the healing power of plants and how they serve as milestones or symbols of family, traditions, people or events.

One quick word on the depth of the memoir: The author mentions she has a tendency to overanalyze. It occurs to me that perhaps not going too deeply into things was a conscious choice. One of experiencing things as they are, without overthinking.

3.5 stars, rounded up to four

I really enjoyed this original and quirky collection of autobiographical stories stimulated by fragrant memories of flowers or plants associated with those stories. Stories of growing up, first loves, going to prom, a funeral and a marriage are beautifully observed - at the heart of each one is a memory of a corsage, bouquet, wreath, potted plant. The account is honest and reflective as she unpicks her youthful self. Her love for her family is paramount. Listening on audiobook felt like the perfect way to ‘read’ this book. I could close my eyes and conjure up pictures of the flowers from the closely observed descriptions. I very much liked the narrator - for me she and the author were as one as she recounted stories with a voice tinged with the emotion of that memory - laughter, self- reflection and sadness. My only reservation was that I did have to get used to different pronunciation of plant names! This is a lovely and original audiobook. With thanks to Netgalley and Andrews Mcmeel Audio

This is a heartwarming book about the plants and flowers that the author had an association with at important times of her life. It is a very interesting book and I enjoyed reading about the different plants, since I am a plant lover and gardener. I also enjoyed reading about the different memories that the author had and how they related to each plant.

I listened to the audiobook version of this title and I enjoyed the narrator's voice and the experience that I had using the netgalley app.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting idea and especially the last chapters where more like I expected.
But the first chapters where just very short stories where the plant did not anything to the stories.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a cute and light-hearted audio book. It is less than two hours long and brought a smile to my face several times. The narrator does such a good job that I actually felt like Katie Vas was talking to me.

During the audio, Katie describes her important life events through the thirty-nine different plants/flowers that played a roll in her memory of each event. It was a very creative way to tell a memoir and I think that’s why I liked it so much. I’ve never read or listened to anything else like it!! You don’t have to be a gardener to enjoy this audio!

The author brought back some of my own favorite memories with my Mom that involved her love of plants/flowers. I haven’t thought of those sweet memories in a long time, so I wanted to thank Katie for that❤. A very heart warming audio and I would recommend it to anyone that wants to put a smile on their face!

My Life in Plants is a touching mini memoir by Katie Vaz. Katie walks us through some of the most poignant memories of her life that are associated with various flowers, plants or herbs.

Her associations between a plant and a memory or experience are truly relatable; poinsettias at Christmas, peace lilies at a funeral, mums in the fall, roses for high school proms, and summer gardens full of herbs like rosemary and basil, and more.

As a gardener myself, I loved the descriptions of plants and the associations of plants with feelings and experiences. When I look back at some of the times of my life similar to Katie’s, I see those same plants or flowers. I have never reflected on my past in this way, and it was a refreshing walk down memory lane.

My Life in Plants is a unique, touching and adorable read.

I love listening to memoirs, and My Life in Plants was a unique one that I really enjoyed. Katie Vaz chronicles her life through the plants that she bought or the ones that she received as gifts. Sometimes it's for an important event like a wedding, but other times she just picked up a plant on the weekend. Somehow she told her stories through plants in a very effective way. It made me think about the plants in my life and the role they have played. I enjoy watching them grow and change over time. They can mark new beginnings and mirror personal growth. My Life in Plants was a sweet and moving story that I enjoyed and highly would recommend on audio.

I absolutely loved this book. Plants are my happy place and this book just felt like sunshine on my soul.

This was a short, sweet audiobook about the author’s life through the plants in her past and present life, plus the life lessons she’s learnt. The chapters are named after the different plants she’s enjoyed and her story is told chronologically.
My favourite chapters were cat grass, daisies, pink roses, poinsettia, African violet, crab apple tree, lavender and fiddle head ferns The saddest chapter was Boston Fern, you might need tissues for that one.
Taylor Meskimen’s narrator was perfect, as was her pronunciation of all the different plants! She’s a new-to-me narrator and I could definitely listen to more audiobooks with her narration.
If you enjoy gardening memoirs you’ll enjoy this on audio.

Such a cozy and heartfelt memoir of one woman and the plants she's loved.

My Life in Plants is a different take on a memoir - each chapter is a tale on how a specific plant has impacted Katie's life. As a plant lover myself, I often think about the various flowers and herbs I've raised (and sometimes killed), so I'm familiar with the comfort and excitement they bring into your life. We witness Katie's growth and self-discovery throughout the pages. It was definitley a comfort read for me - comfort listen in fact because I had the pleasure to get the audiobook.

The narration is very well done and as cozy as and nostalgic as the text, but I felt like I was perhaps missing out on the illustrations, which are part of the text version. Perhaps a solution to this is getting both versions of this book. It's perfect for plant lovers and readers looking for something different.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

My Life in Plants // by Katie Vaz // narrated by Taylor Meskimen

I’m a fan of memoirs, especially serious ones that will teach me something, such as those focused on mental health, working abroad, or the medical field. While I was browsing NetGalley though, I came across this and it sounded really cute. It is short at less than 2 hours and I knew I was about to finish up my other audiobook, so why not? It is delightful! It is like a break from the seriousness and a fresh breath of air. I love my other memoirs but this was so fun to listen to!

The narrator has a voice that seems to work for the chapters where the author is young as well as later on when she is older. She has a good rhythm as well that fit the stories perfectly. There are 39 chapters that are very short and each focus on a different plant. Some plants feature more heavily in their segments while others are mention more in passing. But I found it very interesting that so many of her memories are attached to plants and it eventually made me wonder about my own as well, such as eating tomatoes with my mom, collecting cucumbers from her yard with my grandma, and picking strawberries with my dad and friends. I liked how some stories were more serious than others and also how she looked at herself critically, recognizing both the good aspects of her life as well as the areas of herself where she could improve.

Whether you want a slow introduction to memoirs, a change in perspective for your own life, or just a break from more serious reads, I think you should really consider this audiobook! In my Google search for images for my blog post, I also came across the print copy of this book and really liked the illustrations so I’m sure it would be a lovely print book to own as well!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! The audiobook is less than two hours long. It is a gem of a book. It is a light-hearted glimpse of the author's life. Each glimpse is memory associated with a specific flower or plant.

I became a gardener later in life. I hope my daughter grows up with beautiful memories like these.

This book could easily be expanded into a fictionalized novel about the author's life. The choice of narrator was perfect! Her voice added to the light-hearted feeling of the book.

My Life In Plants was a fun little read that can be read in less than two hours, or divided up for a daily dose of nature. From wildflowers to green onions to aloe vera to … the author reminisces on the plants that shaped her world and what those memories mean to her, now. This makes me want to keep a journal of my own life in plants, honestly! If you are looking for a lovely little nature memoir, you should try Katie Vaz’s My Life In Plants!

I really enjoyed this audio book. The narrator does a fabulous job and the story itself is so adorable and relatable. If you are a plant lover who enjoys sweet memoirs and stories about plant this is a great book to check out. I also thought this was a very unique way to chart a path through someones life.

In each chapter - named for a different type of plant - author Katie Vaz offers charming stories and insights into the life that took shape around the different plants that she brought into it. Fans of Vaz's previous works (The Escape Manual for Introverts, Make Yourself Cozy) will enjoy this book.

Cute idea. Poor execution. It felt too cutesy and nonsensical to make it a valuable piece of literature worth thinking about. There are better books to read out there.

Meh!
The title is misleading. I thought I would get to know more about plants. It’s a memoir and in a chronological way, the writer describes her life events with a little relevance to various plants. So it fell flat to me and some of the chapters Didn't even need any addition to some plants
I received the audiobook from Netgalley. The narrator's voice is so sweet and passionate that it made the read a lil likeable. That's why not rating it two stars