Good Husbandry

A Memoir

By: Kristin Kimball

Narrated by: Kristin Kimball

From the author of the beloved bestseller The Dirty Life, this “superb memoir chronicles the evolution of a farm, marriage, family, and her own personal identity with humor, insight, and candor” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) detailing life on Essex Farm—a 500-acre farm that produces food for a community of 250 people.

The Dirty Life chronicled Kimball’s move from New York City to 500 acres near Lake Champlain where she started a new farm with her partner, Mark. In Good Husbandry, she reveals what happened over the next five years at Essex Farm.

Farming has many ups and downs, and the middle years were hard for the Kimballs. Mark got injured, the weather turned against them, and the farm faced financial pressures. Meanwhile, they had two small children to care for. How does one traverse the terrain of a maturing marriage and the transition from being a couple to being a family? How will the farm survive? What does a family need in order to be happy?

Kristin chose Mark and farm life after having a good look around the world, with a fair understanding of what her choices meant. She knew she had traded the possibility of a steady paycheck, of wide open weekends and spontaneous vacations, for a life and work that was challenging but beautiful and fulfilling. So with grit and grace and a good sense of humor, she chose to dig in deeper.

Featuring some of the same local characters and cherished animals first introduced in The Dirty Life, (Jet the farm dog, Delia the dairy cow, and those hardworking draft horses), plus a colorful cast of aspiring first-generation farmers who work at Essex Farm to acquire the skills they need to start sustainable farms of their own, Good Husbandry “considers what it means to build a good, happy life, and how we are tested in that endeavor” (Mary Beth Keane, New York Times bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes).

Critic reviews

"Toward the end of this eloquent audiobook, author and narrator Kimball describes the birth of a calf. Her rendering of this scene collapses time, and the event rings so true that the listener feels an intimate connection with the rural life that Kimball so sure-handedly details. Kimball has a pleasing voice and an expressive style that bring the listener into close contact with her farm in Essex, New York. She runs the farm with her larger-than-life husband, Mark. They plow with enormous horses, feed hundreds through their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), and act as mentors for young farmers who often go on to start their own horse-centered operations. Farm life is hard—and unpredictable. This back-to-the-land memoir enhances Kimball's reputation as a spokeswoman for the revival of rural life."

Beautiful

Kristin has a beautiful style; raw, heartbreaking, real and encouraging all at the same time

Honest and Inspiring

I live very close to Essex Farm and so this book touches the local part of my heart. It is also such an honest story. Kristin goes into detail about the self doubts of raising a family and being a good partner, all while running a labor of love business. The book covers so much... it's wonderful for the farmer and nature enthusiast and her descriptions are so on point. She puts everything out in the open and the vulnerability is really refreshing. This is a fantastic read.

she's done it again! another awesome listen

loved it so much. she really found her legs & confidence in this book.

Honest, candid and still uplifting

I enjoyed both your books and I pray your family and farm continue to thrive.

Gripping stories beautifully crafted.

Anyone who has ever farmed or homesteaded will be able to physically FEEL these stories. The writing is so vivid and Kristin’s narration is plainly honest and engaging, you almost don’t notice how you are being carried along on such finely crafted prose. I devoured both her books and recommend them...not enough stars to rate this book highly enough!!