@What Sarah Read Next
& Claire Ratinon
"Unearthed: On race and roots, and how the soil taught me I belong"
We are thrilled to have two power houses under one roof. Join Claire Ratinon and @WhatSarahReadNext and as they dig into Claire's memoir Unearthed. An open conversation followed by a Q&A and an opportunity to buy a signed copy of the book.
Claire Ratinon is an organic food grower and writer of Mauritian heritage. After a chance encounter with a rooftop farm while living in New York City, Claire discovered her love for growing vegetables. She returned to London, where she left her career in documentary production, and has been pursuing her passion for plants ever since.
The night will be held in our signature Afri-Co-Lab style, relaxed, drinks, snacks and meaningful chats. Both Sarah and Claire are champions and supporters of Afri-Co-Lab so it is our absolute pleasure to hold this space. Tickets are £15/ £10/ £5 and you can buy a book on the night & Claire will sign it for you.
Unearthed
A powerful work of memoir and storytelling that will change the way we think about the natural world.
Like many diasporic people of colour, Claire Ratinon grew up feeling cut off from the natural world. She lived in cities, reluctant to be outdoors and stuck with the belief that success and status could fill the space where belonging was absent.
But a chance encounter with a rooftop farm was the start of a journey that caused her to rethink the life she'd been creating and her beliefs about who she ought to be. Enlivened, she turned her hand to growing food in London before finding herself yearning for a small parcel of land to call her own.
Unearthed tells the story of her leaving the city for the English countryside - and her first garden - in the hope of forging a pathway towards the embrace of the natural world and a sense of belonging cultivated on her own terms.
It is rare for a book to come along that tells a story that has never been heard before. Unearthed is just that and more. Deeply felt, deeply told, deeply generous, Claire Ratinon's story of trying to find a place of belonging in a post-colonial landscape is one that will change hearts and minds. How vitally we have needed this narrative, how beautifully it has been told.
Alice Vincent, author of Rootbound
"Unearthed: On race and roots, and how the soil taught me I belong"
'A beautiful book about nature, and how reengaging with the foundational experience of our species of growing and cultivating crops can be a source of healing and spiritual truth... I recommend it'
AFUA HIRSCH
ClaireRatinon
Claire Ratinon is an organic food grower and writer who has grown edible plants in a variety of roles including growing produce for the Ottolenghi restaurant, Rovi. Claire has shared her growing journey in talks for organisations including Tate Liverpool, Barbican Centre and Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh, as well as contributing to Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time and writing as a columnist for the Guardian’s Saturday Magazine. She co-wrote the pamphlet, ‘Horticultural Appropriation’ for Rough Trade Books with artist, Sam Ayre and her first book, ‘How To Grow Your Dinner Without Leaving The House’ was published in August 2020. Her new book, ‘Unearthed: On Race and Roots, and How the Soil Taught Me I Belong,’ is out now.