Meaning has directed Iris Lee Underwood along the many paths of her life – from her childhood in Appalachia, hailing from the McCoy part of the Hatfield-McCoy legend, to raising three daughters in Michigan, to losing her eldest daughter to drug addiction and farming lavender as a way to heal from that devastating loss.

Along the way, she's served as president of Detroit Working Writers and writer-in-residence at the Troy Public Library, published three books and authored a weekly column for her local newspaper. She also opened her home to the public as a lavender farm, baking lavender scones and making lavender lemonade as guests clipped the fragrant branches under the bright sunshine.