A Little Bit of Land

By: Jessica Gigot

Narrated by: Julia Whelan

From midwifing new lambs to harvesting basil, Jessica Gigot invites the listener into her life on a small farm and the uncommon road that led her there. Fascinated by farming and the burgeoning local food movement, she spent her twenties wandering the Pacific Northwest, interning at small farms and doing graduate work in horticulture, always with an eye towards learning as much as she could about how and why people farm. Despite numerous setbacks and the many challenges of farming, she created a family and farm life defined by resilience and a genuine love of the land.

©2022 Jessica Gigot (P)2025 Audiobrary

Critic reviews

“To ruminate, Jessica Gigot reminds readers in A Little Bit of Land, means both to think deeply and to chew cud. This delightful approach to life—thoughtful and grounded, idealistic and pragmatic—steers Gigot’s wonderful new memoir. She is the warmest of narrators, self-aware, earnest, and imperfect. A Wendell Berry devotee who sells cucurbits to cruise ships, a landowner who nurtures respect for indigenous people, a mother, lover, farmer, teacher. A poet, most of all. ‘Pasture has its own grace,’ she says. So, too, does this beautiful book.” —Ana Maria Spagna, author of Potluck and Now Go Home

“Jessica Gigot’s memoir is a tender meditation on the meaning of home, the practice of farming, and what it means to be connected to the land. The writing is lyrical, immediate, and sharply observed. I loved being immersed in her world.”—Claire Dederer, author of Love & Trouble and Poser

“Jessica Gigot’s journey to the land is heartfelt and compelling, as are the lessons she gleans from the animals, plants, and people surrounding her in the Skagit Valley. I left this book feeling hope for women in sustainable agriculture and the communities lucky enough to have them.”—Stephanie Anderson, author of One Size Fits None: A Farm Girl’s Search for the Promise of Regenerative Agriculture

Beautiful writing and narrating

I really enjoyed listening to this book. I’d read it once before, years ago, and was ready for another dose of Skagit Valley based prose mixed with a generous helping of thoughtful agrarian musings. Deeply influenced by Wendell Berry, as I too have been, Gigot shares a slice of her life in this beautiful and thought-inspiring memoir. The narration was spellbinding as well. What a treat.