Land Rich, Cash Poor: My Family’s Hope and the Untold History of the Disappearing American Farmer by Brian Reisinger As a new farmer in southwest Wisconsin, I read this book as a cautionary tale as well as motivation to keep doing what we are doing – trying to create a model for a mid-sized farm […]
The essay “Why Farming? Looking Back to Move Forward” originally appeared on Jeannie’s Substack. Subscribe here for monthly updates! Last month’s newsletter addressed “Why Wisconsin?” but I probably should have answered this one first, “Why Farming?” There are many possible answers …. some I use to satisfy people who need a logical explanation because the truth to […]
This review of Colored Television by Danzy Senna was originally published in the New York Journal of Books. Colored Television by Danzy Senna Colored Television is a sharp, comedic novel about the competing drives to make money and make art in one woman’s pursuit of her “American Dream.” Most of all, it is a novel that […]
The essay “Why Wisconsin? Inheritance, Migration, and Finding Home” originally appeared on Jeannie’s Substack. Subscribe here for monthly updates! It’s a question I get a lot these days. “Do you or John have family in Wisconsin?” People seem truly puzzled about our migration when I explain never having set foot into the state until three […]
Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner I loved this novel for its sharp, whip-smart observations and turns of phrase. I love a book with funny, revelatory descriptions and this one delivers. It is a simple plot that is basically an excuse to delve into the theme of generational inheritance and trauma. The Fletcher family is […]
Soil and Spirit: Cultivation and Kinship in the Web of Life by Scott Chaskey I listened to the audio version of this book of essays as I walked our farm in the afternoons. Scott Chaskey’s reading voice as well as his poetic prose provided a meditative and spiritual accompaniment to those outings. These essays honor […]
This article on Jeannie’s Best Books of 2023 was originally published on Shepherd.com. My favorite read in 2023… Wellness By Nathan Hill Why did I love this book? Wellness is the first of my best books for 2023. Nathan Hill writes with the wisdom and life knowledge of a person much older but with […]
Leaving by Roxana Robinson ** spoiler alert ** So many people I admire gushed over this book and so I began this book with high hopes. It certainly has good qualities, the language and the voice are strong. This is the story of a couple who had been together in college finding each other again […]
This essay originally appeared on Jeannie’s Substack. Subscribe here for monthly updates! I need to revise last month’s newsletter in which I kvetched about my struggles with agricultural vocabulary…. because you were probably smart enough to discern the subtext – that I’ve been striving to absorb, whether it be through classes, video, apps or books, […]
This article about five of Jeannie’s favorite COVID novels was originally published on Shepherd.com. Why am I passionate about this? I am an author who also penned a novel during the pandemic, with a timeline that stretched into the first six months of the pandemic–against the advice of my agent and the publishing industry at […]
