Return to the Olive Farm

Life, love, bees, and olive groves in Provence—an enticing subtitle, if ever there was one, graces the new title in Drinkwater’s bestselling Olive Farm series. The memoir chronicles her homecoming to her beloved olive farm after 16 months of traveling around the Mediterranean in search of ancient and revered secrets of olive harvesting. Fraught with one crisis after another, her homecoming becomes bittersweet as a grand celebration is overshadowed by multiple disturbing discoveries. Perhaps Drinkwater's earlier books revel in Provence's splendid picturesque locale, but this one is mired in strife—problematic asbestos removal, the death of a beloved pet, the plight of her honey bees, and her grueling quest for a green solution to olive fly pest removal. Drinkwater's impassioned narration is engrossing but also reflective of her deep frustration. A.W. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine