I love stories about challenges, struggles, and triumphs relating to money and life. In my book, Growing Wealth: Essential Money Lessons from My Garden to Yours, I share stories from my financial life and my gardening adventures. I explain how the two are related, growing financial freedom and growing vegetables, and how lessons from one illuminate the other.

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I’m a numbers person who relaxes by analyzing potential stock picks and designing loan payoff schedules using spreadsheets. I struggle with tasks involving visual memory and hands-on skills, like gardening. Much of my book deals with learning curves associated with harnessing strengths and dealing with weaknesses.

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For example, I can remember conversations and meals from decades ago (exquisitely prepared zucchini on a train to Paris, where I met and split the cost of a hotel room with two sisters who accidentally spent $40 on a long-distance call to their mother – in 1981). Yet, I can’t visualize whether my beloved, adult sons boast beards or are cleanly shaved, just a few hours after we’ve said goodbyes. (Does it matter?)