Essays on Friendship and Breaking New Ground
“If we are lucky enough to get old,” writes Susan Troccolo in this wise, loving, and funny collection, “this is a good time to give back to the generation of younger people coming up behind us. This is the time to become freer, gentler (and sometimes fiercer), funnier, happier, and deeper as human beings. We can become even more of who we already are.”
The Beet Goes On is a slim volume—just 65 pages—in a petite, gift-book size, but the writing is by no means lightweight. Troccolo is funny and also very frank and writes with the kind of wisdom that comes both from experience and from the sort of introspection that is the human mind’s version of composting, where the coffee grounds and banana peels of our experiences are transformed into rich and multi-layered stories able to nurture our growth.
The title of the book, which includes a pun (“beet,” the vegetable instead of “beat,” the rhythm of music and life) is also the title of the first essay, a hilarious and poignant story of Troccolo’s not-always-successful gardening efforts:
“I live in Portland, Oregon, where we have water, sun, and a long growing season. In a place this garden-friendly where root vegetables grow thick and plump, you’d think I’d be able to grow beets by the bushel. But no.”
Her desire to grow beets is rooted (sorry—I couldn’t resist the pun!) in Troccolo’s memories of her “Baba,” her Ukrainian grandmother, who “was obsessed with health” to the point of serving “plain borscht that had never known the soothing touch of sour cream” and prune juice for dessert.
“Because of Baba, I had to grow beets. Here was a chance to rewrite personal history with my own borscht dotted with plenty of sour cream and chives. I would eat jewel-toned beets with arugula, blue cheese and walnuts. Roasted beets in extra-virgin olive oil with kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper. Beets, I knew, were my destiny.”
But Troccolo couldn’t grow them. In her third year of trying, she finally managed to harvest one single ruby beet which she cooked with great ceremony using the principles of “the harmony of daily living” from a book on the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. What happened to that beet is worth the price of the book all by itself.
—Susan J. Tweit, plant biologist and award-winning author, speaker, teacher
Reviews
“Having Susan Troccolo’s words at your side is like spending a day with your best friend—you laugh, cry, and embrace the joy of somebody who knows you inside and out. What a priceless treasure!”
—Dr. Judith Briles, The Book Shepherd
“It’s not often that I find a book that makes me laugh, brings a tear to my eye, and gives me food for thought all at once. I will never again eat a beet without picturing one on the floor about to be attacked, or say “yes” when I really mean “no.”
—Marilyn McFarlane, Author, Sacred Stories: Wisdom from World Religions
“Simple, elegant, funny, charming. She has a zest for life that is inspirational.”
—Library Thing/The 50 Book Challenge
“When I read the page that began: “I want to tell you about what I have discovered and what I will likely need when I get old…beauty and stillness and some intelligent conversation from the heart,” I picked up the phone and started reading to my best friend’s answering machine.
—Annie Bloom’s Books