Mister Owita's Guide to Gardening Audiobook By Carol Wall cover art

Mister Owita's Guide to Gardening

How I Learned the Unexpected Joy of a Green Thumb and an Open Heart

Preview
Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Mister Owita's Guide to Gardening

By: Carol Wall
Narrated by: Cynthia Darlow
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.75

Buy for $15.75

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

A bestseller in the making, this is the true story of a unique friendship between two people who had nothing - and ultimately everything - in common.

Carol Wall, a white woman living in a lily-white neighborhood in Middle America, was at a crossroads in her life. Her children were grown; she had successfully overcome illness; her beloved parents were getting older. One day she notices a dark-skinned African man tending her neighbor's yard. His name is Giles Owita. He bags groceries at the supermarket. He comes from Kenya. And he's very good at gardening.

Before long Giles is transforming not only Carol's yard, but her life. Though they are seemingly quite different, a caring bond grows between them. But they both hold long-buried secrets that, when revealed, will cement their friendship forever.

©2014 Carol Wall (P)2014 Penguin Audio
Cultural & Regional Women Heartfelt
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup

Critic reviews

"In this profoundly moving memoir, Owita teaches Wall how to find grace amid heartbreak and to accept that beauty exists because it is fleeting - as in her garden, as in life." (People, 4 stars)

"A perfect spring awakening." (Good Housekeeping)

"With her children grown and out of the house, Carol Wall is obsessed - perhaps overly so - with ripping out her azaleas. That is, until she meets a certain Giles Owita, Kenyan gardener, supermarket bagger, general-life philosopher and perhaps one of the most refined and gracious characters to ever hit the page (except that he’s real).... A warning for the shy: The basic goodness of Owita’s attitude may cause you to beam spontaneously as you read, leading to off looks from strangers at the coffee shop." (Oprah.com)

Profound Memoir • Endearing Tale • Superb Narration • Extraordinary Ordinary Man • Remarkable Friendship • Deep Message
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant
A sweet testament to the power of optimism, friendship and faith. I will be planting some white flowers in my garden this year.

Thank you, Mr. Owita

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What an open great writer Carol Wall was! Thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Drina Fried, (only granddaughter of Taylor Caldwell)

Charming

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I didn’t love the voice reading, to be honest…but the story and characters developed beautifully

The heart, empathy and compassion learned and shared

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

When Carol found the size six dress!
The unbelievable delays in Luck being able to come to the states.

favorite & unfavorite

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Any additional comments?

This is my first review but I was compelled to write it. This profound memoir illuminated how to find grace, acceptance and beauty in the triumphs and tragedy's of our lives. The author, Carol Wall, paid a heart-felt tribute to a very extraordinary, ordinary man. The narration with the superb Kenya accept only served to elevate the story to an even higher lever. This is a book you can't put down and you won't forget.

Grace, Acceptance and Beauty

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

A pleasant story. All the plant into intertwined with the characters made for a great read.

Loved Mr Owita

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

A beautiful story of a remarkable friendship that crosses boundaries with true respect. A delightful read.

True friendship

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book but more as an endearing tale of a great friendship over common interests like gardening and the common life challenges we all face than anything having to do with cultivating a deep love of gardening. That theme seemed far secondary in the story than that of true and deep relationships. Carol Wall has written a nice book and Cynthia Darlow did a very good job with the reading. My only critisim is that the title did seem a bit misleading. A good listen however.

What about Cynthia Darlow’s performance did you like?

I think it is very difficult to constantly shift between accents and Cynthia Darlow does a great job.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Learning to Love and Live in the Infernal Azaleas.

Any additional comments?

Like the azaleas you may dislike or think ugly, life too has its moments of full and glorious color. And dispite all evidence to the contrary you can learn to love, appreciate and LIVE with the seasons of both.

More endearing friendship than love of gardening.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Any additional comments?

This book was so predictable that it was sad. Some of the characters accents were off. They were supposed to be from Africa and they sounded Asian. Very distracting to me. Maybe would have enjoyed the story better reading it.

Book so so at most

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

A short book, with a deep message. I enjoyed the author’s complete honesty, even when that honesty didn’t paint her in the best light. She easily admits to her faults but constantly strives to do better, as we all should, but is also far too hard on herself, as most of us are. This is a lovely story of hardships, assumptions, the power of friendship, learning to live in harmony with nature and the harsh realities of making a living in the US as an immigrant. Sweet and sad with a hopeful overtone, I would recommend to anyone

Beautiful and Honest

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews