Description

Book Synopsis

A powerful work of memoir and storytelling that will change the way we think about the natural world.

Like many diasporic people of colour, Claire Ratinon grew up feeling cut off from the natural world. She lived in cities, reluctant to be outdoors and stuck with the belief that success and status could fill the space where belonging was absent.

But a chance encounter with a rooftop farm was the start of a journey that caused her to rethink the life she'd been creating and her beliefs about who she ought to be. Enlivened, she turned her hand to growing food in London before finding herself yearning for a small parcel of land to call her own.

Unearthed tells the story of her leaving the city for the English countryside - and her first garden - in the hope of forging a pathway towards the embrace of the natural world and a sense of belonging cultivated on her own terms.

'Ratinon's story will change hearts and minds' Alice Vincent

'A beautiful book about nature...I recommend it' Afua Hirsch, author of Brit(ish)



Trade Review
A beautiful book about nature, and how reengaging with the foundational experience of our species of growing and cultivating crops can be a source of healing and spiritual truth... I recommend it -- Afua Hirsch
This is an outstanding work of storytelling and nature writing. It's also a hard-hitting and educational read * Gardens Illustrated, *Books of the Year* *
It is rare for a book to come along that tells a story that has never been heard before. Unearthed is just that and more. Deeply felt, deeply told, deeply generous, Claire Ratinon's story of trying to find a place of belonging in a post-colonial landscape is one that will change hearts and minds. How vitally we have needed this narrative, how beautifully it has been told. -- Alice Vincent, author of Rootbound
Exquisite * Nova Reid, Author of The Good Ally *
Poignant and groundbreaking... we are tenderly offered a new possibility of deeper wonder, awe and profound hope as we unearth the truth that grows in all our gardens * The Garden *

Unearthed: On race and roots, and how the soil

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    £10.44

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    RRP £10.99 – you save £0.55 (5%)

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Wed 17 Jun 2026.

    A Paperback / softback by Claire Ratinon

    3 in stock

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

      View other formats and editions of Unearthed: On race and roots, and how the soil by Claire Ratinon

      Publisher: Vintage Publishing
      Publication Date: 01/06/2023
      ISBN13: 9781529114867, 978-1529114867
      ISBN10: 1529114861

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      A powerful work of memoir and storytelling that will change the way we think about the natural world.

      Like many diasporic people of colour, Claire Ratinon grew up feeling cut off from the natural world. She lived in cities, reluctant to be outdoors and stuck with the belief that success and status could fill the space where belonging was absent.

      But a chance encounter with a rooftop farm was the start of a journey that caused her to rethink the life she'd been creating and her beliefs about who she ought to be. Enlivened, she turned her hand to growing food in London before finding herself yearning for a small parcel of land to call her own.

      Unearthed tells the story of her leaving the city for the English countryside - and her first garden - in the hope of forging a pathway towards the embrace of the natural world and a sense of belonging cultivated on her own terms.

      'Ratinon's story will change hearts and minds' Alice Vincent

      'A beautiful book about nature...I recommend it' Afua Hirsch, author of Brit(ish)



      Trade Review
      A beautiful book about nature, and how reengaging with the foundational experience of our species of growing and cultivating crops can be a source of healing and spiritual truth... I recommend it -- Afua Hirsch
      This is an outstanding work of storytelling and nature writing. It's also a hard-hitting and educational read * Gardens Illustrated, *Books of the Year* *
      It is rare for a book to come along that tells a story that has never been heard before. Unearthed is just that and more. Deeply felt, deeply told, deeply generous, Claire Ratinon's story of trying to find a place of belonging in a post-colonial landscape is one that will change hearts and minds. How vitally we have needed this narrative, how beautifully it has been told. -- Alice Vincent, author of Rootbound
      Exquisite * Nova Reid, Author of The Good Ally *
      Poignant and groundbreaking... we are tenderly offered a new possibility of deeper wonder, awe and profound hope as we unearth the truth that grows in all our gardens * The Garden *

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