The One Liner Book Review
‘Understorey’ by Anna Chapman Parker
“the weeds might be ideal collaborators: our plant familiars, who will always resist prediction and control”
- From Understorey
"the weeds might be ideal collaborators: our plant familiars, who will always resist prediction and control"
My copy of Understorey is covered in scribbles, doodles, and creased pages where I’ve marked things to show friends and loved ones. My phone is filled with photos of pages, that I’ve quickly snapped and sent to other parents captioned “look, this is us, isn’t it?” or “you have to read this”.
How could a book about weeds speak so strongly to me, in relation to my life?
Anna Chapman Parker’s book spans one year, during which she sets out sketching and learning about the weeds she sees on her walks each day. These sketches and journeys weave together with thoughts and comments about her life, being a parent, her children and their own observations.
At one point, her son wants to join in drawing with her, but sits pressed against the wall he wants to draw - Anna notes that it helped her to remember that observation isn’t always visual. Later in the year, her daughter rolls down a hill shouting “I’m alive!” while Anna watches and sketches the nearby clover. Our kids, like weeds, will resist prediction and control.
The constant themes throughout of noticing, connecting, pausing, echo the work we do at Curiosity Project.
It’s a book you can keep returning to because it’s so beautifully written, and because the facts and titbits about the names of weeds, or history of weeds, are really fun to bring up when you’re walking with your families.
On a personal level, it was also a gentle reminder that this is a great option - I’ve found myself bringing a sketchbook or notepad out with me more when we’re out on walks or at the park, items which give you permission to sit and pay attention to your surroundings, to pause and notice what’s happening.
-Jeni (Director and Operations Manager)
