Margaret Roach is best known as the former editorial director of Martha Stewart Omnimedia; if you have a stash of back issues, open any one to the first page and there she is, waxing eloquent about garden benches or basil varieties or homemade Valentine cards. "Who IS that woman, really?" you might well pause to wonder. "Surely," you would muse, "she must lead a perfect life, steeped in glamour and accomplishment, money, perks, and praise."

And yet, it turns out, Margaret Roach had long ago given up on herself. Shopping "therapy" at Saks didn't assuage the "hit-by-car" feeling of her workday, nor did a succession of fancy spas and expensive retreats rejuvenate her soul. The question that nagged at her, the one no therapist or guru or famous boss could possibly answer was, "Who or what am I waiting for?"

"IN DECEMBER 2007, I made the life-altering decision to walk away from New York City and my job as Editorial Director of Martha Stewart, a career many would describe as highly successful. But I craved completely different rewards: solitude, a return to the personal creativity of writing, and a closer connection to nature and my first passion, the garden I'd been making on weekends for 20 years. I moved to a rural New York State town of 300, began AWayToGarden.com (called "the best garden blog" by the New York Times and named for my prize-winning 1989 book), and wrote the dropout memoir "And I Shall Have Some Peace There" (February 2011). Today, I lecture and teach about what I call "horticultural how-to and woo-woo," and help clients create websites."

From Amazon.com: And I Shall Have Some Peace There: Trading in the Fast Lane for My Own Dirt Road

By Danielle Du Jour

Hartford Woman Online's fictious fiction (and non-fiction) finder! Book reviews provided for your education and pleasure. Not a real person but real opinions.

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