Horse-Drawn Yogurt

Stories from Total Loss Farm, 2nd Revised Edition

By: Peter Gould

Narrated by: Peter Gould

In the 1970s, more than a million young people moved to farms and communes all over the US. There was a war on, and they wanted no part of it. This is a book about those days and one of those communes, told by Peter Gould, one of Vermont's master storytellers, known for decades to fans of Burnt Toast, Gould & Stearns, A Peasant of El Salvador, and Write Naked.

Horse-Drawn Yogurt is an exquisite memoir of a special time: the years of the back-to-the-land movement. But it is also a magical, unfolding mystery. What could this peculiar title mean? There's one way to find out.

"Peter's tone-perfect narratives capture the danger, the disappointments, the joys of living a life of meaning...and the thrill of expanding the heart's perimeter to include everyone you meet. Horse-Drawn Yogurt is a great read by a fine writer. It's glorious!" (Peter Coyote)

"Gould's prose is so intimate that you trust every word." (Yvonne Daley)

"Vivid, honest, and well-written, not only informative but it's an important part of Vermont history." (The Brattleboro Reformer)

"There's so much fun to be had on this ride. Peter Gould is a straight-up magician." (Tim Weed)

"I love Peter Gould's work. We go a long way back." (Patrick Leahy, US Senator)

Read by the author. Second Edition, New and Revised.

Recorded and mastered at Guilford Sound, Guilford, Vermont.

©2022 Peter Gould (P)2023 Peter Gould

Loved everything about this book!

Full of the wizardry and mastery of language, poetry, and traditional story telling. True events magically unfold with subtle humor and humanity.

Like inviting Peter into my living room!

What a delight to hear one of my favorite books, delivered in the way I first experienced it - read by the author, and accompanied by the occasional few bars on the concertina. I enjoyed this version thoroughly, with new material and a thoughtful, modern view on the evolution of the back to the land movement in Vermont, and its contribution to life here in the state as we experience it today. As a next generation back to the lander, I can’t express how many parallels, a-ha! moments, chuckles, groans, and heavy sighs I expressed throughout. Through spoken word, I traveled Peter’s path with him and empathize, perhaps more than most, with the struggles and successes he and his comrades experienced as they took up the old ways. Highly recommended for fans of Vermont, modern homesteaders, communal living-curious, living historians, and pretty much everyone else. A fine listen, indeed.

This Audio Reading Comes Alive !

I read this in book form when it first came out and enjoyed it. The author's reading of this audiobook is superb and dramatic. We found ourselves playing passages aloud for friends -- from the heart-breaking loss of Old Pal the dog to the flourishes of making the best pumpkin pie --this is like a fireside storytelling session.