The Orchard: Hungry for More

By now, most of the population has noticed apples regularly appear on lists of produce that it’s best to purchase organically. After reading The Orchard, it’s easier to understand why this fruit should be avoided in its “conventional” form. A memoir by Theresa Weir, The Orchard is a compelling story of the author’s early adulthood set beneath the canopy of life at the family farm that she marries into at the ripe age of 21. A dashing husband, witchy mother-in-law and meddlesome next door neighbor sound like the usual cast of characters until you realize…this is Ms. Weir’s actual life unfolding. The personal details of her marriage to an apple farmer in Burlington, Iowa, interwoven with the back story of her tumultuous childhood will keep you turning pages, but it’s the backdrop of the apple farm that will ultimately cause you to think deeply. What does it take to produce a perfect, unblemished, shiny apple? The cost in Weir’s The Orchard is almost too much to bear. Her subtle exposure of our antiquated notions of “family farming” in America will leave you disquieted and, if you’re like me, hungry for more of her insightful recollections and observations. Apple production, like many other avenues of farming, has become a serious business. With serious consequences for all of us.

The Orchard by Theresa Weir is available on amazon.com and at other national book sellers.

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