The title “Getting to This Place” is both literal and figurative. In her book, Helen Olson of Colrain describes her journey both to her wooded home in New England and to the sense of peace and stability that home has brought her.
The book is part memoir, part self-help guide. Its central themes are the way in which human life reflects patterns in the natural world and the way in which that natural world can inspire and comfort the people who live in it.
Much of Olson’s life as revealed in the book is a struggle. She grew up in California, the daughter of an alcoholic father and a narcissistic mother whose pairing couldn’t, and didn’t, last.
Young Helen grew up without much support and encouragement, forced to take care of her mother.
She became pregnant during her last year of high school and married her boyfriend. He went to college, and she stayed home to take care of their child, feeling isolated and uncertain.
She eventually studied nursing but took a long time to find her professional niche. She drifted from husband to husband before finally achieving stability with her current spouse.
As Olson describes these various periods of her life, she uses images of nature to explain what she was going through.
“I knew my mother suffered, too,” she says of her youth. “I desperately wanted to help her, but that was no more possible than a sapling being (supportive) to its giant parent. The tiny roots first need nourishment from the roots of a bigger tree, so it can develop its own strength.”
The book doesn’t highlight any particular epiphany. Instead, it describes a gradual strengthening of Olson’s inner resources as she learns to trust herself and to draw on the natural world. It is clear that her move to our area facilitated her transformation, however.
In between descriptions of stages of her life, the author shares some of her pet concerns, always couching them in terms of the world outside the self. She worries about the increasing focus on electronics in our young people, for example, as well as about the over-organization of youth that takes the place of free play.
Her book is both meditative and reassuring. It’s an easy and fascinating read, marred only by a few grammatical errors. These should have been caught by her publisher, but they don’t really detract from Helen Olson’s message.
That message can be summed up in a simple sentence toward the end of the book: “Nature is my solace — and my guide.”
Details: Published by Austin Macauley, 140 pages, $9.95. For more information about Helen Olson and her book, visit helenolson.com.
Tinky Weisblat is the award-winning author of “The Pudding Hollow Cookbook,” “Pulling Taffy,” and “Love, Laughter, and Rhubarb.” Visit her website, TinkyCooks.com.