Welcome to Rooted Agritourism. I'm Dr. Liz Fidler
-Murgan, owner of Sunny Mary Meadow, a U -Pick
flower farm, wedding florist, and event venue
in central Minnesota. Our mission is to serve
anyone rooted in agritourism, value -added agriculture,
and rural entrepreneurship. The people turning
ideas and raw products into thriving businesses
and experiences. Let's dig in. Hello and welcome
back to another episode of Rooted Agritourism.
I'm your host, Dr. Liz Fidler -Morgan, and today
I'm really excited to share that my book is finally
available for presale. So if you have been here
for a while, you know that I have been writing
a book, a memoir. for years. I've been talking
about it. Ultimately, I'm very proud of the message
that it shares and what I hope helps others,
if that makes sense. So it did not start out
as the hopeful, reflective version that is coming
out, but it really, it honestly, it started out
pretty angry. If I'm being honest, I was suddenly
widowed at 31. The next day I found out I was
pregnant and I sat down to write in those first
six weeks. Because I didn't know what else to
do with everything that I was feeling. And so
for months, that book was kind of a journal.
And it was a list of things that I wish people
understood about grief and how lonely it feels
when people don't know what to say. I wrote that
initial 20 ,000 words and I put it in my drawer.
And for reference, 20 ,000 words is maybe 70
pages, something like that. And then I just,
I sat on it for about a year, year and a half.
And then when I took it out later, it didn't
feel like the book that I wanted to put out into
the world. Luckily, a lot of it was true, but
it wasn't helpful and it wasn't healing. And
I just kind of put it on hold and life unfolded.
raising the girls and growing the farm and letting
myself fall in love again and figuring out who
I was becoming, I realized that the major story
had changed because I had changed. And that's
when the real book, the book that it is now,
Flowers Bloom Anyway, started to take shape because
the original title was shit not to say when someone's
husband dies. And then I kind of turned it into
a self -help book, how to move forward or how
to. I didn't really want to tell anyone how to
grieve and I didn't want it to be a self -help.
And so this isn't a how to grieve book and it's
not really a sad memoir, but it's a story about
what it looks like to rebuild your life when
the one you planned is gone very suddenly. And
if you've been listening to this podcast for
a while, you know I'm a planner. You know I don't
take things to chance. You know that... I'll
be like, well, I mean, I don't know. I don't
know. We'll just see. Like, no, there's no we'll
see. There's no we'll see about anything in my
life except for this. And this is the story that
I wished I had. And I wish I was able to read
it when I was in the thick of everything. So
I want to take you behind the scenes of how this
book came to be, what it's really about, who
it's for, and how you can be part of the launch
and help support it. I want to talk about the
farm because Sunny Mary Meadow is literally part
of every. single story so a lot of you have followed
my journey for a long time you know this is not
how the book started out but the first draft
was so angry but that just isn't the story anymore
so I rewrote it and rewrote it and this is just
about living with that fear and instability and
what moving forward actually looks like so Because
Sunny Mary Meadow is so deeply tied to this book
because it was my healing. And I know that many
of you listening are farmers yourselves. You
understand the strange comfort of having something
tangible to work on and what that really meant
for me. And it's something that just grows when
everything else feels uncertain. And so when
I started this farm, I wasn't trying to build
a brand. or you know everything else that has
come along with it and the enterprises but I
was honestly just trying to make this place mean
something I really felt like I was stuck with
my late husband's family farm and it was a noun
not a verb it was a place with some old buildings
it wasn't a business but I felt like I was stuck
here I felt like I had no choice I had no choice
but to stay here with my kids and raise them
because my husband would literally haunt me if
I sold it So I wanted something that could just
kind of hold the weight of everything that I
was going through. And I wanted something I could
point at and say, hey, look, something really
good came of this. And this farm, it... I turned
it into a place that I could show up even when
I wasn't feeling well. It gave me structure,
it gave me purpose, and eventually it gave me
community. And so many of you that are listening
are included in it. So yes, it's a grief book,
but it's also about farming and entrepreneurship
and identity and raising children and learning
how to live a full, joyful, really complicated
life after something devastating. Because grief
isn't just death. Grief is for anyone that it
didn't go as planned or, you know, this isn't
a grief book. It's a keep going book. And Sunny
Mary Meadow isn't necessarily the background
of this story. It really is the heartbeat of
it. And I've been getting a lot of questions
about who this book is meant for. And honestly,
it's for a lot more people than you'd think.
It's for anyone who's lost someone that mattered
or something that mattered, whether that's a
person, a relationship. a dream or even a version
of themselves. It's for anyone who's had to rewrite
their life in real time. And it's for people
who feel like they're in this season of and,
and that's where I live is in this season of
and. I'm okay and I'm still hurting. I'm rebuilding
and I still miss him. I'm happy and I'm sad at
the same time. And it's also for entrepreneurs
and farmers who listen to this show. Those of
you who know what it feels like to make something
out of nothing, to take something broken or uncertain
and turn it into something thriving. And it's
for people who love stories, people who see what
resilience looks like in real life and not just
in Pinterest quotes. And this book is not a manual.
It's definitely not a list of step -by -steps
or advice because trust me, I would write that
book way differently, but it's a story. And it's
one that I hope you can see pieces of your own
story inside of it. And, you know, the publishing,
I wrote drafts, I rewrote drafts. I had moment
where I was sure a year ago today, I was sure
that no one would ever read it. And then one
day. It all just fell into place. I signed a
contract with a publishing company and suddenly
this thing that I'd quietly been working on for
years became a real book and there's a real team
behind it. And it officially publication date
is March 3rd, 2026. But today as this episode
comes out is when pre -orders open. So in March,
it'll be available on bookstores, hopefully nationwide,
but that really depends on how these pre -orders
go. Pre -orders matter so much more than you
realize because they determine how many books
get printed. They see how many people want the
book, how many bookstores want to carry it. And
that's the kind of reach that we build. So it
feels really surreal to say this out loud, but
these pre -orders really matter. So it's available
wherever books are sold. But right now we are
directing everyone to Barnes and Noble pre -order
link. And that link is in the episode notes,
or you just type in flowers bloom anyway at Barnes
and Noble, but it helps with the overall placement
and visibility. And that's the link that makes
the biggest difference at this stage right now.
So you can find the link in my show notes, on
my website, on my Instagram bio. If you follow
me in any way, shape or form, you'll see it,
I promise. But if you've been planning on buying
the book, pre -ordering it now is the way that
helps. It helps way more than waiting until launch
day in March. So we also launched something called
the Bloom Crew, which is basically a new name
for the waitlist. So if you're already on the
waitlist for the book, you're part of the Bloom
Crew. We're just changing the name, but you're
going to get some emails on how to support. the
book, when to share, what to share, graphics
to use, ways to reach out for your local bookstores,
local libraries, all of those things. We have
a lot of stuff coming over the next month of
shareable graphics. And I'm really excited that
there's a lot of interviews and interests. And
there's a lot of journalists that have talked
about the book and some other really fun things,
but just a lot more conversation on the podcast
of grief and resilience and entrepreneurship
and agritourism and motherhood and rebuilding
and just complicated beauty of starting over.
So I just want to say thank you. Thank you for
your support of the farm, of the podcast, of
my story. And it's the whole reason that this
book exists. I wrote it alone, but I didn't live
it alone. So many of you have been here through
every chapter of this journey. And Sunny Mary
Meadow helped me heal. This community helped
me grow. And now flowers bloom anyway is the
thing that I'm offering back to you all. It's
a story that... I hope will help someone else
keep going on the days that they don't feel like
it. Pre -orders are open. And truly, thank you
for helping me. Bring this story into the world.
So until next time, bloom and grow. Thank you
so much for listening to this episode of Rudded
Agritourism. If you enjoyed it, please leave
a five -star review and share it with someone
who would find it helpful or inspiring. Your
support helps us reach more rural entrepreneurs,
dreamers, and doers just like you. You can explore
all of our resources at SunnyMaryMeadowCoaching
.com where you'll find each episode in blog form
along with free resources to help grow your business.
You'll also find info on upcoming on -farm and
virtual workshops. Be sure to check out our monthly
membership, Foundations of Pedaling Perishable
Products, where you'll get access to a full library
of our original course content, plus ongoing
support through monthly virtual meetups with
others in the industry. Just click the link in
the show notes or our bio to learn more. We'd
love to have you join us. Until next time, keep
growing with purpose and stay rooted.