The Summer Garden

After thirty years of marriage, Bill “Scotty” Scotsford knew exactly what his life was supposed to look like. The death of his wife threw it all on the compost heap.  

Taking a plot at the community garden across the street from his new condo seemed like a good way to feel normal again—and perhaps hold on to a little of the life he'd lost. What Scotty didn't expect was everything that came with the garden: unsolicited advice, questionable gardening techniques, ridiculous quantities of zucchini, shared coffee, unexpected friendships, and a group of people who somehow began to notice whether he showed up. 

Through heat waves, broken hoses, stubborn tomatoes, unexpected illness, first frost, and countless cups of coffee, Scotty slowly discovers that grief does not have to disappear before life can begin growing again. 

The Summer Garden is a warm, funny, deeply human novel about grief, friendship, belonging, and the small, ordinary moments that quietly become a life. 

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Reader praise for The Summer Garden 

Beautifully done. I love how the details of the house and the garden make the big emotions seem ordinary and extraordinary at once. -- Jessica Huckabay 

Filled with heart. Filled with those little moments in life that we sometimes take for granted. -- Rin G. 

This one gets you in the feels and is WELL worth the time. -- Lisa Anne Snow, Author & Editor 

This is such a lovely story! -- Vesper L. Rayne 

Mark’s writing style is vibrant and observant and so effortlessly funny - though this is decidedly not a funny story. I may or may not have dried tear tracks on both sides of my face. -- Emily Peterson