Friends since high school, Janice Marriott and Virginia Pawsey reconnected after 30 years and, shortly afterwards, began writing to each other about their respective lives, publishing Common Ground and Common Table together. Their last book, 2013's Common Lives, an illustrated compendium of the best of their letters, closed with the two friends assuring each other that they could never leave their homes and lifestyles. Shortly after publication, however, each of them, unpredictably and somewhat radically, changed their lifestyle. Janice became a grandmother and shifted from Wellington to Auckland to be closer to her family, and Virginia and her husband sold the family farm and built a new house on a smaller property closer to town. Changing Lives picks up their stories where they left off. How did their lives change so dramatically, and how has this affected them both personally and philosophically? And what about their gardens and kitchens?

Author Biography

Janice Marriot is an award-winning author who divides her time between looking after her grandson, writing columns and poetry, and mentoring and tutoring people who are starting out in the writing business. Since moving from Double Tops, Virginia Pawsey and husband Harry have bought a 300 acre farm that Harry refers to as his 'lifestyle block'. They have built a new house on a hillside paddock where Virginia is developing a garden. In her spare time she is perfecting the arts of sourdough bread and chocolate making. Both of them have been monthly columnists for NZ House & Garden magazine for five years.