Can the good life ever be the simple life?

After moving to a countryside smallholding, Rebecca Schiller finds that her family's new life – despite its beautiful surroundings – is far from simple. Overwhelmed by what she has taken on and reeling from the turmoil in the wider world, she turns to her land, searching for answers and hope.

Here, she begins to uncover the hidden layers of her plot's history – and of herself. As the seasons shift, the ground under Rebecca's boots offers hard lessons, revealing brutal truths about the past, our planet and the seeds she holds in her hands.

Yet as a New Year arrives, offering a life-changing diagnosis and a global emergency, Rebecca begins to move forwards with understanding: the smallholding has become her anchor and her family's shelter; an ancient oak tree her compass and guide. Because when we find ourselves lost, we all need something to hold on to – a way to keep ourselves earthed.


‘A beautiful memoir of one small plot of land and one complex human mind.’ - Amy Liptrot
‘A timely reflection on what it means to be human, and the redemptive power of nature.’ - Charlotte Philby
‘Powerfully confessional’ - Clover Stroud
‘The freshness of Schiller’s writing leaps off the page.’ - Dr Sue Stuart-Smith
‘A much-needed story of resilience drawing on the histories of the people who have gone before and to whom this land once belonged.’ - Dr Pragya Agarwal