Losing the Garden

“Waterman’s mesmerizing account of her intense but unusual and tragic marriage to noted climber and wilderness advocate Guy Waterman.” –Stowe Today.com

Laura and Guy Waterman spent nearly three decades homesteading in a cabin in the Vermont mountains. But the end of their marriage came on a frigid day, February 6, 2000, when Guy climbed to the summit of Mount Lafayette in New Hampshire’s White Mountains and sat down among the rocks to die. Losing the Garden is the memoir of a woman who was compelled to ask herself “How could I support my husband’s plan to commit suicide?” In her intimate examination, we explore their intricate and dark family histories and reach a deep understanding of the marriage that tried to transcend them. At its heart, this is a love story and an affirmation of life after loss.

“In the enigmatic Losing the Garden: The Story of a Marriage, Waterman tells with astonishing frankness the wrenching story of her marriage and widowhood.” —Chicago Tribune

“A compelling memoir demands a precarious dance between the universal and the unusual . . . The result is a very slow waltz during which the dancers hardly touch.” —The Boston Globe (Editor’s Pick)

“This is a survivor’s tale of an unusual life and a loving marriage. Waterman’s well-written and heartfelt book will resonate with anyone whose life has been touched by the suicide of a loved one.” —Library Journal