The Forgetting Tree by Tatjana Soli

This book largely takes place on a ranch in Central California, a place that reminded me very much of Fresno.  Claire is a woman who is slow to warm up that the lifestyle of solitary living.  She is more suited to city living and academic pursuits, but she falls in love with Forester, a man who inherits a fruit tree ranch from his parents.  His mother expresses a great deal of skepticism about Clare.  She judges her by the way she looks, not her potential--but she changes her tune soon enough.  Forester is the one who could give up on the land.  Clare becomes determined to die on it.

Which almost comes true.  Clare and Forester split up--she is so intensely tied to the land, and he realizes that they need to sell it, and their relationship can't survive the difference of opinion.  Then, when Clare is diagnosed with breast cancer, she still can't compromise.  She loses her marriage, her relationship with her daughters, and she almost loses herself.  It is a shyster, a woman who wants something that she is not revealing and who is telling lots of lies to hide that fact to teach her that she really has to let go of it after all.  It is a cautionary tale.  Never value things and places over people.

 It reminded me of when I was struggling with a decision about changing schools for my lasty son.  All of my kids had gone to this small wonderful school, but then it changed--all the people who mattered to us left the school, and my son was miserable, but we still weren't sure about what to do.  I had an eye opening conversation with a professional acquaintance and flew home to have a family meeting about ending our relationship with the school, after more than a decade.  I was heartbroken about it, but my kids didn't understand it at all.  One of them said, "Mom, the school is just a building.  It is the people who matter, and the very best person there left.  So there is nothing left there for us."  Just a building.  They were so right.  I had my priorities completely mixed up.  I could have ended up just like Claire if I hadn't been set straight.  Don't let that happen to you.