The Unlikely Lavender Queen: A Memoir of Unexpected Blossoming

Anyone who has ever found that their lives are heading in a direction other than what they had originally planned will sympathize and enjoy reading Jeannie Ralston's The Unlikely Lavender Queen: A Memoir of Unexpected Blossoming. The memoir begins when as Jeannie harvests her first order of lavender. From there, we travel back to what started it all: a National Geographic photographer with fabulous legs. Jeannie writes about how her marriage to what she calls a "restless" man led to a life she never would have imagined for herself. For the first part of her life, Jeannie worked hard to establish herself as a talented writer. She wrote stories for Life, Time, and National Geographic and has been a contributing editor for Allure and is currently still one for Parenting. After she meets Robb, they fall in love and eventually marry and move to Texas. Jeannie is helplessly homesick and misses New York, the city she feels symbolizes her youth. Although the couple first lives in Austin, a city that becomes more than tolerable in Jeannie's mind, they eventually build a home in the Hill Country. Jeannie hates it, and, when Robb decides he wants to start a lavender farm, she only becomes more miserable. The rest of the book details her gradual acceptance and resulting fondess for the business they build and the small town they live in. But it doesn't end there, Ralston's story has a twist at the end, and her story is far from over. When she was in town to read from her memoir, I had the opportunity to speak with Ralston. She filled me in on her life as it is now and her relationship with her husband. When I asked her to describe it for me, she told me "Robb pushes me, but he has never suppressed me. In the end, it always seems to turn out for the best." If Jeannie has learned anything from the lavendar experience, it has been to "let go." At this point in her life, she is more open to his ideas because he has never let her or their boys down or put them in a situation that didn't have their best interest at heart. The Unlikely Lavender Queen is a witty and entertaining story that will keep you glued to the pages to discover what will happen next. And those who enjoy it can look for more books from Ralston in the future.

My friend recently lent it to me on vacation, but I could not finish in time. As soon as I got home, I ordered it and have spread the word on this unlikely life experience ever since. It is well written and described in complete detail. I now tell everyone to read it and I know they will enjoy it too. I look forward to reading about Ms. Ralston's future adventures. I know she will have some wonderful ones!

I was drawn to The Unlikely Lavender Queen mostly because of the lavender. Until three years ago, I lived in the country and the thought of growing lavender had occurred to me. I could almost smell the lavender as I read the first chapter. In fact, making the transition from that wonderful chapter and into the reality of her life was slow for me. However, as I read more, I began to relate so much to the unexpected turn of events in her life because of her marriage. Jeannie Ralston did a most outstanding job of not only making the best of her situation, but blossoming beyond her expectations, and helping put a small town on the map. Her story was inspiring to me. By the time I finished the book, it had me wanting to move back to my native state of Texas, San Antonio maybe. I just wanted to read a book about lavender. Jeannie Ralston gave so much more.

I loved this book!!! Having lived in the Texas Hill Country for eight years, I fully understand many of the challenges faced by the author. This is a beautiful area of Texas enjoyed by many people who are on vacation. But attempting to grow a garden here is not an easy task. The rocky alkaline soil, erratic weather conditions, lack of rain, insects, armadillos, and deer make gardening a difficult proposition. Whiny? No, just stating facts. Hats off to Jeannie Ralston for not sugar-coating the story, and for her sense of humor in the face of adversity. All that said, there's no place I would rather live. She understands that sentiment as well by portraying the numerous benefits of rural life. Thanks to Jeannie for a wonderful book.

Have you ever noticed how the one thing that most attracts you to a person can end up being the thing that, in time, makes you absolutely crazy? Jeannie Ralston's friend Kim once told her "You're just not very adventurous." But any girl who was willing to move from Tennessee to New York, after landing an internship with McCall's magazine, must have had some longing for excitement lurking inside. From there, she carefully engineered a flourishing career as a freelance writer and, thanks to fashion editor Kim, a well-dressed one at that. When she was assigned to work with Robb Kendrick, a cute young photographer from National Geographic magazine, Jeannie got swept right off her Manolo Blahniks and into a life beyond her imagining. It began as a whirlwind of travel and excitement, where she might wake up on her thirtieth birthday and find her bikini-clad self on the cover of Travel + Leisure magazine. So how did she end up at age forty, living on a farm outside of Blanco, Texas, with work-roughened hands, aching back, and a husband who's rarely home? Ah, therein lies the story! When Robb first announced that he despised living in New York and wanted to move back to Texas, Jeannie felt sure he would come around eventually. However, she had no idea just how persistent and persuasive her new husband could be. Next thing she knew, they owned a house in Austin. Of course, that was just the beginning. Robb is an idea man, a man who needs to challenge himself with new projects. A man with itchy feet, enamored with the idea of being a pioneer. After Austin, he hit upon the notion of transforming an old stone barn near Blanco into their home. Jeannie couldn't imagine moving to the country, but eventually caved in, on the condition that Robb must agree to their starting a family. Next, he was inspired by the lavender fields in Provence, and thought, why not in the Texas Hill Country? Though he didn't ask Jeannie to take over their lavender farm while he was away on assignment, both seemed to assume that she would. "This was the natural dance of our relationship. When he was off traveling, which totaled about eight months out of the year, though not all at once, I would get the ball, whatever the ball happened to be at the time." I connected with this book on so many levels. First, it was just a great read. There was never a moment when I felt my interest flagging, and each chapter left me wanting more. Second, the Texas Hill Country is a delightful setting, uniquely beautiful and peopled by such interesting characters that it could easily hold its own against Tuscany or Provence. When I tried to picture a young woman whose previous life was straight out of "Sex and the City" dining at the Blanco Bowling Club Cafe or paying a social call on the crone next door who was busily carving up a deer and plopping the raw steaks down on the table right in front of our New York immigrant, I laughed so much that I almost needed a change of underwear. On a muc