Tree surgery for beginners - Patrick Gale

From the author of The Facts of Life comes a cunning mix of tragedy and comedy, featuring one man's journey to self-discovery.

Lawrence Frost has a special relationship with all things green - his patience with plants and trees knows no bounds. His ability to get on with his wife, Bonnie, is another matter however. Having always taken her and his daughter Lucy for granted, under duress and out of jealousy he lashes out and suddenly loses both of them. The subsequent shock of his violent and conflicting emotions sends him off on a journey of penance that will take him across the Atlantic to America. Along the way he falls in love with an enigmatic chanteuse whose dramatic demise throws his life into further chaos. Finally, he finds sanctuary, alone, working in a Californian retreat and health spa, where he tends to the estate's flora. Here, he is eventually able to lay the ghosts from his past to rest before finding the peace and happiness which are necessary to mend his fractured family tree.