DANDELION ROOTS RUN DEEP

Merry Bell Clark offers a multi-generational, multi-perspective memoir of organic farming in the Midwest.

Merry Bell Clark narrates her own experiences and reproduces the writing of her mother in this personal (and political) book. Clark’s grandparents raised vegetables, fruit, poultry, and livestock in Illinois starting in 1945. Since her grandfather worked in town, her grandmother took care of the farm. Clark’s parents also became farmers after buying land in Michigan. They attempted to raise food organically, like the author’s grandparents had done, but faced challenges caused by local dumping and heavy pesticide use. So, in addition to farming, they also became activists, founding Citizens for Environmental Protection to organize locals for their cause. Clark’s mother joined the Cass County Planning Commission, wrote essays for publication, and served on the National Organic Standards Board. The author returned to the farm in 2013 to sink deep roots (like the dandelion of the title) and to care for her mother, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s (“It’s clear she knew she would outlive her memory, so she kept her memories alive as long as she could by writing them down over and over and reading her writing over and over. Her only wish was to remember”). The book is uneven in many ways; some stories are told with vivid detail, but whole decades are glossed over, with little continuity provided. Environmentalism is the ostensible theme, but so much else is included, and the multiple perspectives become very confusing at times. Still, Clark uses her mother’s writing very effectively—the elder’s prose is passionate, witty, and endearing. In addition to family adventure and environmentalism, issues of gender, class, and dementia are all dealt with thoughtfully—the author writes about the tangles in the hair on the backside of her mother’s head in a way sure to resonate with anyone who has cared for a loved one with Alzheimer’s. Clark also provides important updated information about organic farming.

An engaging but sometimes muddled environmentalist-themed farm family saga.