Synopses & Reviews
Upon moving to Appalachian Ohio with their two small children, Richard Gilbert and his wife are thrilled to learn there still are places in America that havent been homogenized. But their excitement over the regions beauty and quirky character turns to culture shock as they try to put down roots far from their busy professional jobs in town. They struggle to rebuild a farmhouse, and Gilbert gets conned buying equipment and sheepa ewe with an outie” belly button turns out to be a neutered male, and mysterious illnesses plague the flock. Haunted by his fathers loss of his boyhood farm, Gilbert likewise struggles to earn money in agriculture. Finally an unlikely teacher shows him how to raise hardy sheepa remarkable ewe named Freckles whose mothering ability epitomizes her species hidden beauty. Discovering as much about himself as he does these gentle animals, Gilbert becomes a seasoned agrarian and a respected livestock breeder. He makes peace with his romantic dream, his father, and himself. Shepherd, a story both personal and emblematic, captures the mythic pull and the practical difficulty of family scale sustainable farming.
Review
Shepherd is the most graphic, honest, heartrending, and heartwarming account of undertaking an adventure in farming that I have ever read. Embracing both untamed nature and human nature, this book makes compelling reading for both those who farm and those who dont.
Gene Logsdon, author of All Flesh is Grass: The Pleasures and Promises of Pasture Farming
Review
Shepherd explores one mans realization of a boyhood dream. But as they say in southern Ohio, It werent easy.” Richard Gilbert writes with honesty, in gorgeous prose, about the joys and setbacks, bringing to vivid life an enchanted Appalachian valley filled with unforgettable characters.
Dinty W. Moore, author of Between Panic and Desire
Review
What a delightful book. So authentic in its descriptions of those peculiar critters, sheep. It brings back so many memories of my life at Malabar Farm and the spring lambing season, which seldom failed to deliver to me an orphan to be brought up on a bottle. People say sheep dont have much sense. But from the sheep Ive known, this strikes me as being a very precipitous judgment. Anyone who reads this book will be encouraged to see what I mean.
Ellen Bromfield Geld, author of The Heritage: A Daughters Memories of Louis Bromfield
Review
Theres no book like it.
Bill Roorbach, author of Temple Stream: A Rural Odyssey
Review
Shepherd is the story of one mans dream of returning to the land, but Richard Gilberts glorious memoir is more than that. Its a universal story of families, the ones we try to redeem and the ones we strive to create and maintain. Gilbert writes with a keen eye and a quiet grace. His portrait of the natural world takes us into the interior landscape of its very human, very likeable guidean honorable, courageous man. Im so very happy to have had the chance to meet him in these pages.
Lee Martin, author of Such a Life and From Our House
Review
Gilberts descriptions of landscape and characters and, most impressively, of the work he doesand whyare terrific: often poetic, sometimes funny, and always infused with love.
Ana Maria Spagna, author of Potluck: Community on the Edge of Wilderness
Review
With topics ranging from the specific compartments of a ruminants stomach to spirituality, to neighbors, and to history, Richard Gilberts book unfolds the true slow-motion adventure of a clear-eyed, realistic, modern back-to-the-lander. It is the best fence conversation youve ever had, from an instinctive storyteller. He searches carefully in this book for something weve all begun to wonder about: where is, he asks, the wisdom of those who stayed put?”
Liz Stephens, author of The Days Are Gods
Synopsis
Memoirist Richard Gilbert and his wife are thrilled to learn, upon their move to Appalachian Ohio, that there are still places in America that haven't been overrun by strip malls. When they attempt to put down roots and become sheep farmers, however, they learn the hard way that this region isnt as welcoming as it seems. Determined to create a hardy, low-maintenance flock, Gilbert discovers as much about himself as he does his sheep, becoming, at long last, a real farmer.”
About the Author
Richard Gilbert teaches writing at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio.