The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love

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The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love

4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 · rating details · 6,005 ratings · 1,110 reviews

"This book is the story of the two love affairs that interrupted the trajectory of my life: one with farming—that dirty, concupiscent art—and the other with a complicated and exasperating farmer."Single, thirtysomething, working as a writer in New York City, Kristin Kimball was living life as an adventure. But she was beginning to feel a sense of longing for a family and f...more "This book is the story of the two love affairs that interrupted the trajectory of my life: one with farming—that dirty, concupiscent art—and the other with a complicated and exasperating farmer."Single, thirtysomething, working as a writer in New York City, Kristin Kimball was living life as an adventure. But she was beginning to feel a sense of longing for a family and for home. When she interviewed a dynamic young farmer, her world changed. Kristin knew nothing about growing vegetables, let alone raising pigs and cattle and driving horses. But on an impulse, smitten, if not yet in love, she shed her city self and moved to five hundred acres near Lake Champlain to start a new farm with him. The Dirty Life is the captivating chronicle of their first year on Essex Farm, from the cold North Country winter through the following harvest season—complete with their wedding in the loft of the barn.

Kimball and her husband had a plan: to grow everything needed to feed a community. It was an ambitious idea, a bit romantic, and it worked. Every Friday evening, all year round, a hundred people travel to Essex Farm to pick up their weekly share of the "whole diet"—beef, pork, chicken, milk, eggs, maple syrup, grains, flours, dried beans, herbs, fruits, and forty different vegetables—produced by the farm. The work is done by draft horses instead of tractors, and the fertility comes from compost. Kimball’s vivid descriptions of landscape, food, cooking—and marriage—are irresistible.

"As much as you transform the land by farming," she writes, "farming transforms you." In her old life, Kimball would stay out until four a.m., wear heels, and carry a handbag. Now she wakes up at four, wears Carhartts, and carries a pocket knife. At Essex Farm, she discovers the wrenching pleasures of physical work, learns that good food is at the center of a good life, falls deeply in love, and finally finds the engagement and commitment she craved in the form of a man, a small town, and a beautiful piece of land

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Paperback, 304 pages

Published April 12th 2011 by Scribner (first published October 12th 2010)

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Aug 17, 2011 Judy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who love the country, memoirs, farming, organics

Shelves: 2011-reads, homesteading-simplicity, gardening, bio-memoir, favorites, new-york

So there I was, eating haute cuisine in a mobile home. He cooked for me as seduction, a courtship, so that I'd never again be impressed with a man who simply took me out to dinner. And I fell in love with him over a deer's liver.

Kristin Kimball lived, breathed and played in NYC until the fateful day she visited an organic farm with the intent of writing a magazine article. Dressed like a city girl she got drafted to help out until the farm's owner could spare time to talk to her. That was the be...more So there I was, eating haute cuisine in a mobile home. He cooked for me as seduction, a courtship, so that I'd never again be impressed with a man who simply took me out to dinner. And I fell in love with him over a deer's liver.

Kristin Kimball lived, breathed and played in NYC until the fateful day she visited an organic farm with the intent of writing a magazine article. Dressed like a city girl she got drafted to help out until the farm's owner could spare time to talk to her. That was the beginning of the end of city life for Kimball and the start of a new love for Mark, her future husband, and farming.

It may be my love for the farm-life or maybe she is an exceptional wielder of words but this book read like a beautiful melody to me. I laughed a lot, cried a little and pulled for Kristin and Mark as they began their journey together as owners of a CSA.

This is the best memoir of this type, surpassing Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life in my estimation. Not only is Kimball an excellent writer in the classic sense, she knows how to evoke emotion...the reader feels like he/she is along for the ride.

Here is a humorous tidbit (from page 189). Mark & Kristin were having difficulty interesting their CSA members in scrapple. Scrapple was a congealed pork concoction they were introduced to by Amish friends. Kristin had promoted it in their weekly newsletter.....

In my zeal and my Spring delirium, I thought "lovely brown gelatinous bricks" sounded appetizing, which tells you why Mark is in charge of advertising. Ah, lovely brown gelatinous bricks doesn't whet my appetite either. Its a good thing Mark took charge of advertising!

This was a book I eagerly anticipated picking up each day. It joined a select few books I've read throughout my life that I didn't want to end. I don't expect others to fall in love with it as much as I did unless they love the type of life that Kimball describes as much as I do. However, I'd be surprised if her readers didn't relish her story.(less)

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May 04, 2012 Guy Choate rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: immersive-nonfiction

Kimball does a good job in using this book to remove any romantic notion of leaving city life for that of the farm life. Or maybe she enriches that notion for the person who truly wants to seek that farm life. Either way, she gives what I assume is a realistic view of the commitment that a farm is--the cow always has to be milked. I appreciated her straight-forwardness in that. If Kimball is anything, she seems honest, both about the farm and her relationship.

There are a lot of characters that a...more

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Jul 31, 2012 Gregory rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked this book up at the library primarily because I had, had a fruit/vegetable for lunch that looked like a tomato, smelled a little bit like a tomato, but tasted nothing like the fresh from the garden tomato's that I remember eating as a child.

Kimball gives us an amazingly good look at her move from New York writer to Old Wave farmer. We also learn a little about local sourcing and Ms. Kimball's interior life as she makes the transition. Having grown up on something resembling a farm I und...more

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Jan 17, 2013 DocHolidavid rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Try as I might to dislike The Dirty Life, it’s difficult to fault such an eloquent, honest, and authentic narrative.

An impetuous young female writer, financially and emotionally destitute, longing for love, home and motherhood would have accepted almost anything making her life different. She did, surrendering to a willful man and his work.

In a depiction of her man as the wizened one, she ever the apprentice, The Dirty Life is Kristin Kimball’s account of her introduction to horse powered commu...more

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Jan 02, 2011 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

This book fits into the whole foods, local grown, thinking ecologically about how we eat genre that is popular these days. Coming from Nebraska, it was nice to read a book that talks about farming as a nontrivial, nonmenial career. I suppose some might argue that Kimball glorifies it all a bit more than she should, but I'm not convinced. She talks about sleeping in a rat infested house and goes into pretty explicit detail about animal slaughter and birth. I tend to enjoy the whole local grown wh...more

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Mar 14, 2011 Daniel Audet rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As I was reading what I knew would be the last few sentences of this book and then forced to, reluctantly, put it down I took solace in the idea and fact that as I was reading here today Kristin and husband Mark and their team on the farm were actually out working, doing many of the things I read about in her book. So, maybe there will be a sequel, the next 7 or so years.
Somehow in a very deep way this effort from Kristin Kimball touched me, connected the dots in me and for me in ways I heret...more As I was reading what I knew would be the last few sentences of this book and then forced to, reluctantly, put it down I took solace in the idea and fact that as I was reading here today Kristin and husband Mark and their team on the farm were actually out working, doing many of the things I read about in her book. So, maybe there will be a sequel, the next 7 or so years.
Somehow in a very deep way this effort from Kristin Kimball touched me, connected the dots in me and for me in ways I heretofore couldn't do for myself. Maybe it was the struggle, the subterranean emotional ones or the literal variety, like, hard work, that were easy for me to relate to. Or, maybe it was her fearless trek inward AND hard work outwardly AND her willingness to plunge into both, always mindful of her fears, her doubts. I don't know, I just know something in me clicked. Based solely on the worth and substance of her personal struggles, overcoming her fears and trepidations, her development and character growth, this book could stand on it's own and Kristin would be hailed as the new Dr. Phil or Dr. Jane or Dr. Laura. She has however chosen to use whatever gain, whatever experience teaches a person to continue to use it to build her dreams with her family, friends and community, on, of all places, a farm.
From a writerly standpoint this book exhibits a very high standard of skill, while literally keeping the reader grounded to the earth, in many ways. Passages regarding horses, seasons passing, description of the sights and sounds and smells and tastes of life, all, translated beautifully enough to bring the most knowing editor to tears. I read and re-read numerous pages again to try to absorb the flow, the translation the type of which only the heart can understand, but the technical mind marvels at.
Yes, like I said earlier this week in an update and I'm completely serious, this book could stand with any authors work on any level technically, and as a non-fiction entry to the book hall of fame I believe it will take it's place in a category all it's own.
Building bridges is easier when you know how, it becomes remarkable when someone builds a bridge across the great divide within themselves, using, as Kristin put it, "The great gift of an Ivy League education."(Harvard) NOT knowing how and documenting the struggle using writing skills learned while creating a life that requires immeasurable sacrifice and effort, which she now lives, was a bridge building experience all it's own too. THIS is why this book is SO worth anyone's time. I myself know that a farm or ranch can test you, it can teach you, it can wreck you and it can save you and just like life, and it IS life, the cycle of seasons, plants growing, critters spending their lives doing what they do, well, it's where we've all come from at one time or another in our family histories.
Kristin Kimball wrote this book about her life, "The Dirty Life". It's about her hopes, her dreams, her fears and weaknesses, a farm, a man, more hopes and dreams and struggles and finally - we get it. We get what it all means. And what it all means, part of it anyway is that with you or without you the land stays, and time rolls on. At that moment you'll look down at this book in your hands and say, "What just happened?" You'll realize how amazing it is to have just read a book where a woman built bridges within herself, between herself and the 21st Century, and our ancient agrarian past and did it with such style that it might just defy the imagination, if it weren't true.
Buy this book and for a little while you too can live - The Dirty Life.

Next time your in the bookstore or in an online bookstore, peruse a few pages, you'll see what I mean.
Follow Kristin on Twitter http://twitter.com/k_kimball , from there follow links out to her site.
Someday I just might hook up the camper to the pickup and head north to volunteer at this farm.
Seems like the thing to do. Yep.
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Really, I can't say enough about this book and Kristin. Her candor is so refreshing, since, as you might guess the farm life is not an easy one. Her and Mark, started out like a lot of young couples with hope, on a wing and a prayer. If you are an "outdoorsy" type or not, what you'll find here is pure inspiration. This is a woman's journey, with no symbolisms or cliches, just a hard fought - joy filled struggle. One, at times, with despairing and fearful moments but she always remains clear about her vision and willingness to step up and deliver, whatever it takes to see her and her husbands dreams and lives become one. I do not know this author but even after 200 or so pages in, I feel like I do. You will not be stumbling over an amateur's writing here, Kristin is very much a pro, having a background in freelancing and the NY publishing scene. Really, a good book!
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I read the review for this book in The New Yorker magazine a few weeks ago and though I don't really read a whole lot of non-fiction, having been a ranch owner and in the near future, Please God Please, to be one again soon, I love this real life story and the very idea of living it myself. I plan to study how they created and maintain a self sustaining farm. It's modern in that she was a NYC resident and her husband, a real cowboy/farmer, studied what they needed to do and did it. But it's a throwback to a simpler time too in many ways because they use old tried and true farming methods from many generations ago and actually use draft horses for most of the heavy work. WOW! That sounds real good to me.
Kristin left her life, partially, in the NYC publishing circle to become a working farmer, while still holding onto her dream to be a writer.
So, now that I'm into the prologue, the first thing that struck me was how well she writes! Not that I expected anything less but still, her skill level is top notch. You'll notice this right away too. I'll keep you posted on my thoughts and my progress as I happily devour this book!(less)

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Jun 05, 2012 Michelle Ryan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I did not think this would be a page turner, but it was for me! This is a story about the authors transformation from city girl to farmer. I loved her ability to describe her journey without making the reader feel like it should be theirs, or that it shouldn't. An excellent read!!!

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Jan 04, 2011 Megan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a fun read. It is about a 30ish woman who was a journalist in New York. She went out on an assignment about organic farming, meets a farmer and soon is living with said farmer. This book is the story of how they set up their farm, the work and their lives. I now want a couple of draft horses and some chickens.

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Apr 05, 2013 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club

Because I am married to someone who grew up on a farm, much of the content of this book was old hat to me, and I skimmed quite a bit. I very much appreciated the fact that the author did not romanticize agricultural life too much. So many books of this genre gloss over the fact that farming is a lot of work and most small farmers are fairly poor. This author really FARMED - she didn't just have a little garden or gentleman's (lady's?) farm and call it farming.

Part of my frustration with this bo...more

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Mar 03, 2013 David rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Freelance writer from NYC meets a farmer and starts an update-NY farm and family with him. The book is mainly a chronicle of first year on the farm. Some good bits about getting established in the community and giving/receiving trust and help (initially her fashionable attire stands out so much that a rumor spreads that she used to be a call girl). I was also interested in the economics of the CSA they begin, and in one or two of the "zany antics when learning to milk a cow" sort of anecdotes.

Mo...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Mcburke3 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A story of two very high energy people who find their passion around dirt farming organically. Good story, wonderful writing. Made me tired just reading about the work they do to keep the farm going. This is nonfiction, the farm is in upstate New York.

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Oct 23, 2012 Caitydid rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Every once in a while I'll need a break from my usual heady, absurdly stylish reading fare, and books like this are my version of a beach read. Last year, I picked up a little gem called Goat Song (by Brad Kessler), which explored in a tight, journal-style format the trials and rewards of escaping the harried metropolitan life for a pastoral fantasy on a dairy goat farm. That book had such a lyrical flow, with gut-wrenching moments of life and death and lovely prose, fascinating anecdotes on his...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A non-preachy book about one woman's transition from New York City Girl to operator of a large scale ago-business.

Kristin met Mark during an interview. He was an organic farmer with big ideas who effortlessly dodged her for three days while she kept finding herself helping out in her hipster outfit. By the end of three days, when they finally managed to sit down together, Mark knew he was in love and Kristin new she was....intrigued. She took a leap of faith and moved with Mark to a 600 acre far...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Randy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Periodically, while reading "The Dirty Life", a book which I loved, I found myself thinking about "Eat, Pray, Love", a book I hated for its solipsism. The protagonists in each book are both writers, living the Yuppy life. Their paths diverged with Elizabeth Gilbert ending up as a famous author while Kristin Kimball, in an unbelievable life shift, becomes a farmer now helping to produce food for more than 200 families from a 600 acre farm in Essex, New York.

I'll return in a minute as to why I thi...more Periodically, while reading "The Dirty Life", a book which I loved, I found myself thinking about "Eat, Pray, Love", a book I hated for its solipsism. The protagonists in each book are both writers, living the Yuppy life. Their paths diverged with Elizabeth Gilbert ending up as a famous author while Kristin Kimball, in an unbelievable life shift, becomes a farmer now helping to produce food for more than 200 families from a 600 acre farm in Essex, New York.

I'll return in a minute as to why I think "The Dirty Life" is way more interesting and inspiring than "Eat, Pray, Love". First, here's Kristin Kimball's story in brief:
A Harvard grad and NYC free lance writer, living the cafe life, dating a variety of NYC characters, feels a tingling to have a "home." She visits a farmer named Mark, a tall, good-looking fellow with a Swarthmore degree, to interview him for an article on young farmers. Mark is busy and puts her to work. At the same time Mark, an impetuous fellow, decides that Kristin is the woman he must marry. From here the book spins out the details of their unlikely romance, Mark's ability as a farmer/salesman, Kristin's unexpected decision to give up NYC and join Mark in his quest for a farm, their stormy partnership and the struggles of their first farm year told season by season culminating in their chaotic wedding. Along the way we learn much about driving teams, animal husbandry, sugaring, pigs, milking, plowing, butchering and other subjects that make up a dirty life.
Mark had an unbelievably ambitious vision. He wanted to provide a full service CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). That is, he wanted to provide his members with all of their food: meat, foul, dairy products, vegetables, sweeteners (maple syrup) and even firewood. More than that, he didn't want to limit his members but to let them have as much as they wanted, to encourage them to put food by. In addition, he wanted to farm using old methods, primarily with teams of horses.

Fast forward and check out their website http://www.kristinkimball.com/ which reports that they now have 222 members who pay approximately $3000 per year each for the privilege of sharing in the bounty. Essex Farm has nine draft horses, a few tractors and ten employees.

I've read a lot of back to the land memoirs in the last few years and this is the best one. The lesson is clear. The work is hard. The work is unrelenting. The work is satisfying. Clearly, the world needs more Mark Kimballs (who took his wife's last name when they got married as she didn't want to change hers). He comes across as idealistic, super energetic, charismatic, dogmatic, relentless, likable, visionary and invincible. We need to clone this guy.

In "Eat, Pray, Love", Elizabeth Gilbert gives up home to find herself. I don't know if she did or not because I couldn't finish the book. The fact that "Eat, Pray, Love" resonated with so many people disturbs me. My inspiration these days comes from people like Kristin and Mark who actually do things rather than just think about them and write about them. By way of comparison with Ms. Gilbert, in "The Dirty Life" Kristin Kimball gives up finding herself for a home and, in the end, offers a simple paragraph of explanation:

"And this is the place where I'm supposed to tell you what I've learned. Here's the best I can do: a bowl of beans, rest for tired bones. These things are reasonable roots for a life, not just its window dressing. They have comforted our species for all time, and for happiness sake, they should not slip beneath our notice. Cook things, eat them with other people. If you can tire your bones while growing the beans, so much the better."

Mark and Kristin have recreated an early twentieth century subsistence farm. Though it might seem unusual, the fact is that this type of farm operation was ubiquitous only two generations ago. Just over fifty years ago I was able to spend time on my own grandparents farm where they produced virtually everything they needed and traded for what the couldn't grow or raise. Two generations later many skills have been lost or gone dormant.

It's comforting to know that here and there young people are working it out, getting down with the dirty life. (Julia Roberts would be good as Kristin Kimball in the film version).(less)

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Jun 13, 2012 Alison Whittington rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I thoroughly enjoyed The Dirty Life and read it in two days. I had a hard time understanding the inner transformation Kristin Kimball experienced, from city girl to farmer - or honestly, what she ever saw in her husband in the first place, since she paints him as an unsympathetic, crazy New Agish daydreamer - and that lack of depth would be enough to knock this book down another star, if she didn't do such a great job making me feel vividly both the difficulty and beauty of life on a farm (at le...more

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Jun 05, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book not long after finishing The Egg and I by Betty McDonald, another memoir about life on a farm (but set approximately 70 years ago and on the opposite side of the country). This book is the story of a woman who meets a farmer while doing some freelance writing, falls in love and gets engaged to him, and moves from New York City to live with him on a farm they are creating from scratch. She chronicles her life going from a city girl who cherished her silk blouses and heels to a wo...more I read this book not long after finishing The Egg and I by Betty McDonald, another memoir about life on a farm (but set approximately 70 years ago and on the opposite side of the country). This book is the story of a woman who meets a farmer while doing some freelance writing, falls in love and gets engaged to him, and moves from New York City to live with him on a farm they are creating from scratch. She chronicles her life going from a city girl who cherished her silk blouses and heels to a woman more concerned with how to get the pigs from one barn to another without losing any. My timing was great for reading these two books so closely together because I was able to see very similar stories in two very contrasting circumstances.

Ms. McDonald lived and farmed with her husband in the far northwest tip of the U.S. while Ms. Kimball lived and farmed with her fiance (for the first year) in the far northeast of the U.S. Ms. McDonald wrote during the 1930s while Ms. Kimball wrote during the 2000s. Ms. McDonald was rife with tale after tale of difficult, tiresome, and trying, yet always comical, situations in which she found herself as a farmer's wife. Ms. Kimball also wrote her own tales of difficult, tiresome, and trying times, yet her descriptions were focused on her evolution as a result of the experience as opposed to being portrayed as a comedy of errors.

Ms. Kimball's story is a wonderful tale of striking out on a whim based solely on the nagging feeling that you are doing the right thing. She infuses her writing with the reasons she began to feel more and more at home on the farm than in the city and with her fiance turned husband at her side than a string of short-term boyfriends and a life alone.

More than just a memoir, Ms. Kimball's story is also about the evolution of the farm she and her fiance created and how, as husband and wife, they've grown from having nothing to building a world where their local community can rely on them to supply fresh food that is sustainably raised with the aid of very little machinery. It is a wonderful testament to the simple joys and pleasures of life. It is a reminder that the food we eat is not just about a trip to the grocery store; it is about the ability of humans to share in the incredible power of bringing community together in nourishment, healing, and love.
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Jun 02, 2012 Chris Witkowski rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The author's account of how she left her glamorous freelance writer's life to marry a die hard back to the earth man who has a dream of starting a CSA farm that will provide all the food needs for shareholders, as much as a person could want, and then some. Kristin Kimball and her husband-to-be move to the North Country of New York and against all odds, make their dream come true, proving that hard work can be transformative. This account may be overly romantic and I was overwhelmed with just ho...more

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May 22, 2012 Denise Oyler rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Really enjoyed this book! It made me want to garden and farm and live an organic life. It made me think of my grandparents who were farmers and appreciate them more. The writing was beautiful! This quote really touched me: "Some people wish for world peace or an end to homelessness. I wish every woman could have as a lover at some point in her life a man who never smoked or drank too much or became jaded from kissing too many girls or looking at porn, someone with gracious muscles that come from...more

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Apr 22, 2012 JoAnn/QuAppelle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really liked this book and raced through it as if it were fiction. I am no fan of memoirs and usually avoid them, but this was different. And it definitely was NOT the whiny "pity me" memoir that is so common today.

Kimball writes about her decision to chuck a freelance writing career in NYC and start a sustainable agricultural venture with her fiance in very rural upstate New York (they later marry and have two daughters). He has a vision of having a CSA farm that provides year-round grocerie...more

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Mar 21, 2012 Patty rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, 2012-book-group, food, humor, husband-and-wife, non-fiction, new-york, new-york-city, farming, gardening, gardens, memoir, audiobook, talk-tote, marriage, local-food, women-writers

Somehow I managed to finish our book group's April read before our March read. There are many reasons - I am listening to the March read and did not bring it along to Texas. Also, I had read it before and so was hoping that the audio book would bring me new insights.

Mostly though, The Dirty Life was extremely readable. Once I started it on Friday night, I just wanted to finish it. However, I had to attend my nephew's wedding and get my mom and I back to the Dallas airport. The wedding was very i...more

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Nov 28, 2011 Christie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A dirty life indeed: pig entrails, a pit bull attacking and mauling a beloved Jersey cow, animal slaughter described in vivid detail and a rat infested home are just a few examples of the life Kristin Kimball chooses on an impulse, then grows into slowly, deeply. She chucks her Manhattan lifestyle and job for the backbreaking work of a 500 acre, organic farm, not knowing quite what she is getting into but better off for that, as it turns out. I laughed out loud at her descriptions of her wedding...more

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Nov 12, 2011 Wendy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'd like to give it 3.5 stars, but since it won't let me, I'll have to go with 3. She gives a full and amazing description of the work involved in starting their farm. Any romantic notions of the life of organic farming, or working with teams of horses rather than tractors are absolutely put into perspective. You can feel the sheer exhaustion, but at the same time, feel the love and dedication they had (and still have) to making it work.

What I would love to have seen much more of in the book wa...more

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Nov 07, 2011 Maureen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's hard to decide if this is a love story about farming or the author's husband. Both came as a complete surprise to the author. Kristin writes with great humor and exquisite detail about how a "rustic" style farm operates, without chemicals and with reliance on horses and hand labor over tractors and engine-powered machines. The farm life descriptions are fascinating, I really enjoyed learning along with her and Mark as they tried, failed, and succeeded at the various tasks (e.g. planting, an...more

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Oct 31, 2011 Melody rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir

The interesting thing about this book was Kimball's point of view, which is never more than 5 feet distant from the muck. This is not some soft-focus, romantic tale (though if that's what you are looking for, see my recent review of The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels -- A Love Story) but rather a book wherein you find yourself up close with the author, smelling the contents of a gored bull's wound for intestinal spillage, and when she finds it, knowing there's about to be a gunshot...more

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Oct 14, 2011 Penny rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the second book I've read about a woman who makes a dramatic course change in her life (the previous one was Black heels and tractor wheels by Ree Drumond). I sure hope this isn't a premonition of some sort.

However, if it is, both of the women ended up quite happy with their new lives, so it wouldn't be all bad.

In this book Kristin is a freelance travel writer living in New York city. As part of a writing assignment she meets Mark, who is running an organic farm in Pennsylvania. In the c...more

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Aug 13, 2011 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was given to me by my friend,Sarah. She just knew I would love this story and she was so completely correct. I could barely put this book down once I got started, which surprised me, because I didn't expect to love it *that* much. The Dirty Life fell right in line with my interest in sustainable agriculture and farming as it followed Kristin and her husband through the beginning of their romance to their ultimate destiny as husband and wife farmers in the Northeast.

Along the way she descri...more

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Jun 08, 2011 Natalie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: food-politics

The story of a writer from NYC who visits a young farmer, falls in love and joins him on their journey to create a new type of CSA together. It is a quick, fun read that pulls you into their adventures. I could not put it down!

The one thing that I did not like was the fact that the couple was co-habitating during their engagement. I make mention of this mostly because the wedding is the climactic point in the book and the stress and tension between them as they struggle against the elements is a...more

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Jun 05, 2011 Janet rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: had-to-buy, memoir-autobiography, kindle

This was a delightful, honest account of one woman's adventure going from the life of a Manhattan writer to a full-time farmer on a farm that is not only self-sustaining but provides enough animal products, grain, and vegetables to support more than one hundred other people.

Kimball's story begins when she travels from New York to Pennsylvania to interview a man who runs a community farm that provides subscribers with eggs, vegetables, pork, and chicken. To her surprise, she finds herself not sim...more

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May 19, 2011 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: foodie, oh-so-amusing, armchair-farmer

After the first few pages of this book, I was sure it was going to be a detailed description of various meals the author had eaten. I wouldn't have minded as she is a kickass writer. But the book is more than that. It's how a Harvard-educated New York city writer falls in love with a Swarthmore-educated no-nonsense farmer, and how they build a life together, creating an over-the-top organic farm in upstate New York. And, as the title suggests, it's a dirty life--full of pigs, pig entrails, cows...more

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May 12, 2011 Joy H. marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, farming

_The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love_ by Kristin Kimball (Published October 12th 2010 by Scribner)
Added 5/12/11.
Our local public library has just announced a "Community-Wide Reading Experience" featuring this book. The purpose of the event is to connect people through reading. The event will run from May 19, 2011 to October 6, 2011. The event is being run in conjunction with the library's Folklife Center program called “Foodways: Documenting the Local".

A member review by Megan says:
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About Kristin Kimball

Kristin Kimball is a farmer and writer living in Northern New York. Prior to farmer, Kristin worked as a freelance writer, a writing teacher, and an assistant to a literary agent. A graduate of Harvard University, she has run Essex Farm with her husband since 2003.

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“In his view, we were already a success, because we were doing something hard and it was something that mattered to us. You don't measure things like that with words like success or failure, he said. Satisfaction comes from trying hard things and then going on to the next hard thing, regardless of the outcome. What mattered was whether or not you were moving in a direction you thought was right.” — 9 people liked it

“So there I was eating haute cuisine in a mobile home. He cooked for me as seduction, a courtship, so that I'd never again be impressed with a man who simply took me out to dinner. And I fell in love with him over a deer's liver.” — 8 people liked it

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