by Catherine Friend
Da Capo Press, $16.00, 263 pages
Whether you already know Catherine Friend from her exploits in fiction, nonfiction, and children’s literature, or if you’re just discovering her, this latest laugh out loud memoir on farming is a can’t miss read. Ms. Friend and her partner began farming as complete novices and have since encountered every blunder under the sun, especially ones involving lambing time, shearing, sheep sex and other natural disasters. As such, while it might make for some painful days on the farm, it also makes for hysterical and insightful views into this vital, if under-appreciated, industry.
In this latest installment of Friend’s farming memoir saga, Sheepish: Two Women, Fifty Sheep & Enough Wool to Save the Planet, after fifteen years of farming, it’s starting to feel like the farm doesn’t love the author. Raising sheep isn’t getting easier, and neither is birthing time, chore time, or any other time for this city-girl-turned-farmer. Meanwhile the number of sheep is falling, sheep prices are falling, and the wool never ends. Friend examines the importance of farming and sheep, and the benefits both give to us all.
Reviewed by Axie Barclay