Ordinary Soil by Alex Woodard
What's It About?
Ordinary Soil is beautifully written. Full stop. It is a moving, if not somewhat distressing, exploration of how throughout the years, the impacts that chemical intervention and other land abuse has had on food production and quality, the environment, and our overall health on a global scale.“The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children.”
—William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
In the desolate landscapes of the Oklahoma Panhandle, Alex Woodard’s Ordinary Soil (Greenleaf Book Group Press) is a powerful and haunting story that delves into themes of generational trauma, family, love, global health and ultimately, man’s tumultuous relationship to the land.
Afflicted Farmer with a Shadowy Past
The novel begins with an afflicted farmer, driven to the edge by a shadowy past he does not understand, but one that refuses to release its grip on him and his family. When he attempts to kill himself under a decaying burial elm tree, he unwittingly uncovers a dark ancestral history, revealing the roots of abandonment and abuse that have plagued generations. As you learn more about his family’s tragic past, it becomes evident that the trauma haunting them is intimately entwined with the consequences of their choices with respect to the land.
Though fictional, Ordinary Soil is grounded in disturbing facts as reported by the National Institutes of Health — many of which are detailed on the novel’s back cover — and presented in a layered, multi-generational structure that expertly takes us back to the 1860s through to present day.
Throughout the story, we meet a diverse cast of kin that leapfrog through time, carefully unspooling familial secrets, while also imparting wisdom that could pave a path to redemption, not only for the farmer and his family, but for the land itself. While the initial introduction to these characters may be overwhelming to some at first, Woodard’s command of the craft makes for easy reading, and the true reward for sticking with it is a deep understanding of how each character’s story interconnects and contributes to the overall narrative and its important messages.
Cautionary Tale Meets Classic Ghost Story
Explanations of how the past influences the present and the future run through the text, and Ordinary Soil is certainly a cautionary tale, but Woodard has also woven in a classic ghost story, which helps to solidify the novel’s chilling undertones, while keeping the reader invested long after the final page has been turned.
The imagery depicted through Woodard’s emotionally charged descriptions of the landscape create a chilling, but fully developed setting that is more than just a backdrop — it’s ultimately a character in itself, and one the reader is immediately drawn to and feels sympathy for. Though specific to the Oklahoma Panhandle, the themes explored could relate to almost anywhere in the world — and that is perhaps one of the novel’s most poignant traits.
That said, Ordinary Soil is beautifully written. Full stop. It is a moving, if not somewhat distressing, exploration of how throughout the years, the impacts that chemical intervention and other land abuse has had on food production and quality, the environment, and our overall health on a global scale.
It should also serve as a powerful call to action for change.
About Alex Woodard:
Alex Woodard has toured nationally behind several critically acclaimed albums, earning a few prestigious industry nods while sharing the stage with some of his heroes. His For the Sender book, album, and concert series has earned praise from Huffington Post (important, enlightening, and ultimately inspiring), Deepak Chopra (a beautiful tribute to the resilience of the human spirit), Dr. Wayne Dyer (an inspiring, thought-provoking, and life-changing work), Ellen DeGeneres (I. love. this.), and Billboard Magazine (one of the year’s most touching, unique releases), among others.
Alex writes, sings, and plays his way from the California coast to the mountains of Idaho, happy to share the pilgrimage with a Labrador and two horses.
