In the midst of the seemingly serene Mennonite settlement in Northern Alberta, life bustles with farming and gardening activities. Simplistic living was key, and Brenda Gardener struggles to carve out her individuality. Coming from a family tree with a "good" reputation, yet one that placed dysfunction on the map and a community that discourages personal expression in every way, will her spirit survive her contemptuous mother, sadistic father, and the tyrannical religion that puts a chill down your back and threatens to freeze your soul? Journey with the strong-willed, stubborn young girl through the tangled world of boxed ears, berry picking, and Sunday borscht. In combining season and staunchness, vulgarity and volatility, does a German-speaking Mennonite kid ever actually get to speak up, let alone speak out? Or simply surrender her tenacity in hopes that children are indeed better seen and not heard?