A Victory Garden for Trying Times

A woman’s journey through a year of love, loss, and despair.

Ever since her childhood on a Niagara farm, Debi has dug in the dirt to find resilience. But when her husband, Peter, was diagnosed with cancer in November, it was too late in the season to seek solace in her garden. With idle hands and a fearful mind, she sought something to sustain her through the months ahead. She soon came across Victory Gardens — the vegetable gardens cultivated during the world wars.

During an anxious winter, she researched, drew plans, and ordered seeds. In spring, with Peter in remission, her garden thrived and life got back on track. But when Peter’s cancer returned like a killing frost and he died suddenly of a heart attack, the garden was a reminder that everything ends. For weeks she hated the garden, until she allowed her grief to crack open while preparing it for another year of growth.