"The Dirty Life"

"It was the first time in my life that my experience as a high school cheerleader helped me. The steer hit me just below the hips, and as he lifted his head and tossed me in the air, I tucked my chin and piked. I believe I pulled a half gainer, because I landed sitting, slightly stunned but completely unhurt. The other steers stopped, staring."
-Kristin Kimball, The Dirty Life

You can begin to picture the woman who wrote this - Kristin Kimball - in her new book, The Dirty Life. She grew up in the suburbs and is part cocktail-drinking city girl, part farmer's wife, with all of the confusion that comes from trying to balance these identities. It's this quality that makes her completely and utterly real...at least to me. Like Kimball, I love my city life: walking to our favorite, crowded bar for a drink, hopping on the creaky, smelly T to see friends, seeing the sun set over the beautiful city skyline. Despite my content in the city, there is still something in me that yearns for space, land, and a home (and maybe a big truck?) where we can extend this local life that we have started. Kimball, who opts to flee the city and bunk down with a farmer in upstate New York, shows us how this can be done - on a grand scale. Because her husband is an experienced farmer, they start a CSA that provides the full diet; not just vegetables, but meat, maple syrup, grains, beans, and more. This involves a tremendous amount of work, and their adventure is recorded in her lovely book. I escape into its pages when I'm on the Metro during rush hour, which is evidence enough for me of how engaging this story is. Put it on your list!