Martha Leb Molnar – Playing God in the Meadow: How I Learned to Admire My Weeds

The Woodstock Garden Club and the Norman Williams Public Library invite you to join them for a special event with Martha Leb Molnar, who will present her new book, Playing God in the Meadow: How I Learned to Admire My Weeds.

After decades in Manhattan fantasizing and saving, Molnar and her husband found a parcel of land in Vermont. Determined to turn an overgrown and unproductive apple orchard into a thriving and beautiful landscape, they decided to restore this patch of land to a pristine meadow and build a safe haven for their family and nearby wildlife. 

Propelled by the heated debates surrounding non-native species and her own complicated family history and migration, she decided to research the Vermont landscape, turning to scientific literature, experts in botany and environmental science, and locals who have long tended the land in search of answers about the invasive species that had sprung up around the property. 

At turns funny, thoughtful, and conversational, Playing God in the Meadow follows this big city transplant as she learns to make peace with rural life and an evolving landscape that she cannot entirely control. 

Martha Leb Molnar is a freelance writer, author, and commentator. A former New York Times reporter, Molnar was a regular contributor to Vermont Public Radio and has written articles for Horticulture, Northern Woodlands Magazine, Mother Earth, and Green Mountain Club Magazine, among other outlets. She is the author of Taproot: Coming Home to Prairie Hill. 

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“I don’t think ‘meadow’ and ‘meditation’ have the same root, but perhaps they should—Molnar’s book is a lovely reminder of how you can see the world in an acre.”—Bill McKibben, environmentalist, author, and founder of 350.org 

“Molnar creates a valuable testament to our evolving attitudes toward nature. And by weaving in her personal history, Molnar makes this an important contribution to the field of natural history writing in the tradition of Robin Wall Kimmerer and Michael Pollan.”—Robert Taylor, nature writer

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The Yankee Bookshop will be on hand with copies of Playing God in the Meadow for purchase and signing.

This event is free and the public is warmly welcome to attend; seating is limited. For more information, please email programs@normanwilliams.org.