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Sheepish: Two Women, Fifty Sheep, and Enough Wool to Save the Planet
What do you do when you love your farm . . . but it doesn't love you? After fifteen years of farming, Catherine Friend is tired. After all, while shepherding is one of the oldest professions, it's not getting any easier. The number of sheep in America has fallen by 90 percent in the last ninety years. But just as Catherine thinks it's time to hang up her shepherd's crook, she discovers that sheep might be too valuable to give up. What ensues is a funny, thoughtful romp through the history of our woolly friends, why small farms are important, and how each one of us -- and the planet -- would benefit from being very sheepish, indeed.
281 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 21, 2011
58 people are currently reading
1156 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Friend
31 books165 followersCatherine Friend had what she calls a "boring" childhood, but she says that boring was just fine -- because it gave her more time to read. She read so much her parents had to set a "no-reading-at-the dinner-table" rule. She was slightly shy as a child, but enjoyed playing Beauty Parlor with her sister, taking family trips, and watching STAR TREK and TIME TUNNEL.
She studied Economics, but because of her love for books and stories, she eventually found herself drawn to writing. Since then, the author has written six children's books, including THE PERFECT NEST, a hilarious read-aloud illustrated by John Manders; and two books in Candlewick’s Brand New Readers series. She is also the author of the acclaimed adult memoir, HIT BY A FARM: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BARN. When it comes to her writing, Catherine Friend likes to try new things and seek new challenges -- but she always likes to write stories that make her laugh.
Catherine Friend lives on a small farm in southeastern Minnesota -- which inspired both THE PERFECT NEST and HIT BY A FARM. There, she raises sheep, goats, and llamas, and has an energetic border collie named Robin.
She studied Economics, but because of her love for books and stories, she eventually found herself drawn to writing. Since then, the author has written six children's books, including THE PERFECT NEST, a hilarious read-aloud illustrated by John Manders; and two books in Candlewick’s Brand New Readers series. She is also the author of the acclaimed adult memoir, HIT BY A FARM: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BARN. When it comes to her writing, Catherine Friend likes to try new things and seek new challenges -- but she always likes to write stories that make her laugh.
Catherine Friend lives on a small farm in southeastern Minnesota -- which inspired both THE PERFECT NEST and HIT BY A FARM. There, she raises sheep, goats, and llamas, and has an energetic border collie named Robin.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 297 reviews
April 26, 2012
This book is an quick, easy memoir. The subject matter interests me immenesely- a lesbian-run sheep farm is one of my most precious secret dreams. The author is clearly a skilled writer. And yet this book was just "ok" to me. It reads a lot like a blogger's book, and I found out halfway through that the author in fact keeps a blog about her sheep farm. I would guess that a lot of the blog material is given a second life in this published form.
Here's one of my favorite passages:
We stick by our 'no naming the female sheep' rule. Then Melissa buys two Muscovy ducks, big waddling things that don't quack but sort of whistle in a nonthreatening way. The female proves to be a great mother, so she becomes Mother Duck. The male struts around imperiously waiting for Mama Duck to walk by so he can have sex. I was to name him Oversexed Asshole, but Melissa, being more generous than I am, dubs him Mr. Duck.
In moments like this, I enjoyed the book. I wasn't impressed by the structure of the book, though. Many of the chapters were disjointed and there were weak segues between them. The quotes at the beginning of each chapter didn't frame or add to the story. And the story itself was a little slow (she learns to knit. then she learns to make a sock. then she makes another sock. some lambs are born. she has a small fight with her partner. etc) Towards the end of the book, Friend meditates on the "middles" of things - the middle of her life, the middle of her relationship, the middle of the farm - and how they are less exciting than beginnings and hard to feel good about. I thought this was really precious and endearing because I haven't read a lot of lesbians reflecting on their relationships twenty years into it. Despite my affection for many parts of this book, it was a real slag for me to get through due to the aforementioned issues of flow.
Consequently, I would recommend it as airplane reading or as your gym book. Also, it's maybe not so great for really tender vegans because they do sell some of their sheep as meat, although most of the book is about the sheep's fiber and Friend's relationship with it and butchering is not a primary part of the story.
Here's one of my favorite passages:
We stick by our 'no naming the female sheep' rule. Then Melissa buys two Muscovy ducks, big waddling things that don't quack but sort of whistle in a nonthreatening way. The female proves to be a great mother, so she becomes Mother Duck. The male struts around imperiously waiting for Mama Duck to walk by so he can have sex. I was to name him Oversexed Asshole, but Melissa, being more generous than I am, dubs him Mr. Duck.
In moments like this, I enjoyed the book. I wasn't impressed by the structure of the book, though. Many of the chapters were disjointed and there were weak segues between them. The quotes at the beginning of each chapter didn't frame or add to the story. And the story itself was a little slow (she learns to knit. then she learns to make a sock. then she makes another sock. some lambs are born. she has a small fight with her partner. etc) Towards the end of the book, Friend meditates on the "middles" of things - the middle of her life, the middle of her relationship, the middle of the farm - and how they are less exciting than beginnings and hard to feel good about. I thought this was really precious and endearing because I haven't read a lot of lesbians reflecting on their relationships twenty years into it. Despite my affection for many parts of this book, it was a real slag for me to get through due to the aforementioned issues of flow.
Consequently, I would recommend it as airplane reading or as your gym book. Also, it's maybe not so great for really tender vegans because they do sell some of their sheep as meat, although most of the book is about the sheep's fiber and Friend's relationship with it and butchering is not a primary part of the story.
May 19, 2011
This is one of those books that makes you say, "What is wrong with me that I like this book so much?" I can't explain it, really -- it's about things like sheep and wool, serious farm girl nerd stuff. But Friend is such a witty and engaging writer, plus I just like that she -- like me -- writes fiction, non-fiction, and children's books, which makes her seem multitalented (whereas it just makes me seem like I have a bad case of ADD). If you knit, if you like sheep (in a platonic, non-gross way, as Friend puts it), if you fantasize about farming, if you puzzle over environmental questions about the impact of eating meat and wearing fiber, if you like historical trivia and hilarious farming anecdotes, read this book.
September 22, 2011
I came to like the author as a character over the course of the book, but overall the writing was a reminder of how hard it is to do funny, self-deprecating, engaging memoirs well. The short choppy chapters, short choppy thoughts, and short choppy jokes don't hold together to make a particularly compelling read. I got the feeling that Friend's personal despair and the problems in her relationship were deeper than she really wanted to share in full, making for a weird ricocheting back and forth between her declarations that it was all falling apart and her breezy quips about the humor of farm life. "Fiber freak" that I am, I was interested enough in the topic to stick with it--and it made me appreciate wool as a fabric more than ever--but I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone who wasn't already hooked on sheep, wool, or knitting.
July 8, 2011
this book was a really fun ride and i'm compelled to throw out my whole wardrobe and replace it all with wool - i mean, i couldn't be happier with all of my merino wool clothing from icebreaker, so why not? i so appreciate all of the wool and sheep trivia i have in my brain as a result of reading this one.
i still can't decide if i loved or disliked how short all of the chapters were. instead of flying through the book, it stalled me a bit, but if you like to pick up and read in small bites, this book is ideal for you. it's a wonderful memoir that i was laughing out loud at in many places - you feel like catherine friend is speaking directly to you about sustaining her energy to keep up with the exhausting life of a sheep farmer.
i still can't decide if i loved or disliked how short all of the chapters were. instead of flying through the book, it stalled me a bit, but if you like to pick up and read in small bites, this book is ideal for you. it's a wonderful memoir that i was laughing out loud at in many places - you feel like catherine friend is speaking directly to you about sustaining her energy to keep up with the exhausting life of a sheep farmer.
January 30, 2015
Friend is a truly fantastic writer, but I'm deducting a potential fifth star as the book was just too long for me, with my interest starting to flag beyond the halfway point; animal people shouldn't have such a problem. I'll give her a bit of that back though for the way she deftly handles the sexuality issue, so that it's neither hidden "Where's Waldo?" style, nor trumpeted as "Yo! Dykes ahead!"
Definitely read Hit by a Farm: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Barn first.
Definitely read Hit by a Farm: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Barn first.
March 16, 2023
I enjoyed this memoir of sheep raising and eventually falling in love with yarns.
March 15, 2013
I find this author's writing style completely captivating. I started reading this book as a fun break from studying for the CPA exam, and ended up spending most of the next day finishing reading the book! We get to see more of life on the farm that Catherine Friend and her partner own together. Her description of the sheep on the farm was endearing. This book follows her discovery of a love of fiber arts, including spinning, dying, and knitting. I enjoy knitting, so I enjoyed her descriptions of her learning the art. The interesting thing is that I got so involved in reading Catherine's experiences with her sheep on her farm that I started fantasizing about how maybe I could get a few sheep and see what it's like to sheer them, spin their wool into yarn, dye it (or not), and knit it into something to wear. Then I remembered...I live in a small apartment in Northern Virginia, for goodness sake! Not to mention the fact that I have no idea how to tend a farm. So, this will forever be a fantasy for me ;) Anyway, you will enjoy reading this book, regardless of if you enjoy the fiber arts or not. I am planning on checking out anything else this author has written - reading her books is a lot of fun!
April 5, 2017
This didn't seem to be sure whether or not it should be a farm memoir, a craft memoir, a history, or an environmental manifesto. Also, even though they were focusing on farming for meat, the fact that they didn't even fathom selling the fiber until many years later was, imo, stupid. As Friend points out, wool is used in a wide variety of objects, so just throwing away (*cringe*) all that fiber every year was just throwing money away. Maybe it was just Friend's hatred of "fiber freaks" and their yarn that she didn't think to look past that until much later? Attempts at self-deprecating humor ended up just making many decisions seem stupid and whiny rather than funny, learnable moments.
August 17, 2011
Whether you're a knitter, spinner, or farmer-wanna be, you'll love this book!
February 4, 2022
Oh I love this. Not only is it about cute sheep and their shepherds and the other animals, but it's a memoir about Friend's ability to say mea culpa and to learn to be a better person and 'citizen of the world.'
For example, she first thinks of people who make their own sweaters as Fiber Freaks since they could just go buy one, but over time becomes a knitter herself and a strong advocate of wool, over microfiber and other synthetic oil-based fibers of course, but even over cotton, especially heavily-treated 'wrinkle free' cotton. (Yes, of course she's biased. But she's also right.) (The best way to get new clothes is to buy used. Even better is to avoid getting new clothes by making what you have last as long as possible. Tips to do so avl. upon request.)
She shares lots of other ways that sheep can help the planet, for example mentioning the weed control they did in Carson City that I remember from when I lived there. Wonderful program.
"The EPA considers many textile manufacturing facilities to be hazardous waste generators."
"There are more breeds of sheep than of any other domestic livestock mammal."
"Cattle farmers and ranchers expect sheep to act like cattle, so when they don't, a sheep is suddenly stupid. This wrongheaded idea came from our history. Range wars...." Sheep are very good at doing what they want to do to take care of the themselves and their lambs... and they can recognize up to about 100 faces.
"Our lives are fashioned by what we pay attention to."
I love the quotations she uses to open the chapters, too.
"We are are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love."
Author unknown.
"After you've done a thing the same way for two years, look it over carefully. After five years, look at it with suspicion. And after 10 years, throw it away and start all over. "
Alfred Edward Perlman
"Weave me a rope that will pull me through these impossible times."
Tim Finn
"A love affair with knowledge will never end in heartbreak."
Michael Garrett Marino
Unfortunately there is no bibliography nor are there notes.
Fortunately Friend has written other books for me to enjoy.
For example, she first thinks of people who make their own sweaters as Fiber Freaks since they could just go buy one, but over time becomes a knitter herself and a strong advocate of wool, over microfiber and other synthetic oil-based fibers of course, but even over cotton, especially heavily-treated 'wrinkle free' cotton. (Yes, of course she's biased. But she's also right.) (The best way to get new clothes is to buy used. Even better is to avoid getting new clothes by making what you have last as long as possible. Tips to do so avl. upon request.)
She shares lots of other ways that sheep can help the planet, for example mentioning the weed control they did in Carson City that I remember from when I lived there. Wonderful program.
"The EPA considers many textile manufacturing facilities to be hazardous waste generators."
"There are more breeds of sheep than of any other domestic livestock mammal."
"Cattle farmers and ranchers expect sheep to act like cattle, so when they don't, a sheep is suddenly stupid. This wrongheaded idea came from our history. Range wars...." Sheep are very good at doing what they want to do to take care of the themselves and their lambs... and they can recognize up to about 100 faces.
"Our lives are fashioned by what we pay attention to."
I love the quotations she uses to open the chapters, too.
"We are are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love."
Author unknown.
"After you've done a thing the same way for two years, look it over carefully. After five years, look at it with suspicion. And after 10 years, throw it away and start all over. "
Alfred Edward Perlman
"Weave me a rope that will pull me through these impossible times."
Tim Finn
"A love affair with knowledge will never end in heartbreak."
Michael Garrett Marino
Unfortunately there is no bibliography nor are there notes.
Fortunately Friend has written other books for me to enjoy.
September 19, 2011
I was utterly charmed by this book. I laughed out loud multiple times and felt compelled to read aloud portions to others around me. The writing is personal, hysterically funny in many places, and in others recognizable as a reflection of things in my own life. It's a great read for fiber artists to want to know what a life with animals might be like. This book has encouraged me to love sheep even more...""in a healthy, platonic, and non-gross sort of way" that is.
October 31, 2011
I laughed out loud reading this book, and sometimes laughed until I cried. I don't know if being a knitter made it more enjoyable for me than it might be for others, but I can say I recommend it. The second half has considerably fewer laughs, but lots of information on the benefits of using wool rather than other fibers.
December 13, 2011
The subtitle pretty much covers it. There is a bloggish sort of feeling to this book about 1. sheep in general, 2. a specific sheep farm in Minnesota, 3. the women who run the farm, and 4. saving the planet, or not, from global warming. This was a fun read AND very informative.
I thank Catherine Friend and Melissa, and all other hard-working farmers out there.
I thank Catherine Friend and Melissa, and all other hard-working farmers out there.
June 6, 2011
Sheepish continues the wild , sheep farming tales started in Hit By a Farm. Catherine and her partner Melissa are still living on the farm, but beginning to struggle making ends meet. Their bodies are protesting the heavy farm labor and Catherine still questions her commitment to the farm. But everytime doubts arise there is a warm, cuddly lamb to be bottle fed or some heroic friend stops by to help out. Catherine uses this latest installment in their farming adventures to explore the idea of middles. Why is the middle of something so hard to get through? In the middle of her farm life, in the middle of her relationship, and in the middle of her life she feels marooned, unsure of what she wants and which direction to head in. As in Hit By a Farm, Catherine intersperses hilarious sheep and duck stories with serious reflection on her life and emotions. She also examines her relationship with the environment trying to reconcile her desire to be good to the earth with an utter lack of the shear time and energy required to recycle, compost, and reuse every possible thing. In the end, of course, the answer comes back to sheep.
I just love Catherine Friend's non-fiction! She is so down to earth, honest about her faults, and downright funny! Her stories of life on the farm with her tough and stubborn partner are ultimately so heart warming that you can't help but want her to make things work. Her foray into the world of fiber freaks gave me a new, if skeptical appreciation for wool and knitting. I ended this book feeling like I had reconnected with old friends and was pleased to see them doing so well. I will recommend this book to every animal lover, eco freak, knitter, and person just looking for a good laugh.
I just love Catherine Friend's non-fiction! She is so down to earth, honest about her faults, and downright funny! Her stories of life on the farm with her tough and stubborn partner are ultimately so heart warming that you can't help but want her to make things work. Her foray into the world of fiber freaks gave me a new, if skeptical appreciation for wool and knitting. I ended this book feeling like I had reconnected with old friends and was pleased to see them doing so well. I will recommend this book to every animal lover, eco freak, knitter, and person just looking for a good laugh.
July 5, 2011
This was a book I found at the Denver Post sale, and my sheep -- and now WOOL -- fetish won out. I was very pleasantly surprised. Friend is an excellent, funny writer a la Bryson, and her stories of being stuck in the middle (not the beginning of an experience, nor the end) are honest and endearing, making me laugh out loud. The essays are loosely compiled into a narrative of sorts, of finding one's focus and renewing one's energy through growth and creativity. I almost gave this a 5. I really, really liked this book and am going to find her others ... and maybe visit their sheep farm in Minnesota, too.
June 10, 2011
This book was very fun to read. It is written with humor. The story is about 2 women who decide to start a farm and end up with a lot of sheep. They sort of figure it out as they go along and somehow manage to survive while doing so. The writing is good and done sort of as essays, although each one moves the book along in a chronologic order . I did enjoy reading this and I was glad to discover that Catherine did get to become a fiber "Freak" as she puts it. She also becomes a mad sock knitter. So altogether a read good read if you like do-it-yourself, laugh at yourself stories.
February 3, 2013
I read this book because the title made me think of my mommy, and I decided it was time to read something that wasn't fantasy. It was an enjoyable read about farming, raising sheep, and falling into the dangerous world of fiber arts.
I now have a greater appreciation of wool and feel like I should go and buy things made with it. (Turns out it's much better for the environment than cotton, doesn't get smelly, wicks moisture very well, and won't let dust mites grow.) However I still feel safe from the fiber arts obsession (sorry mom).
I now have a greater appreciation of wool and feel like I should go and buy things made with it. (Turns out it's much better for the environment than cotton, doesn't get smelly, wicks moisture very well, and won't let dust mites grow.) However I still feel safe from the fiber arts obsession (sorry mom).
June 4, 2015
If I weren't horribly squeamish about 50% of the tasks required to be a shepherd, this book would have made me want to get some lambies and make some wool!! Each individual story flowed nicely and I laughed out loud a LOT - I love how its a book about two lesbian farmers (one very enthusiastic, the other not so much). My only criticisms are that the super short chapters made the book feel choppy and sometimes I wasn't sure if she was talking about one particular event or the events in general (such as lambing season). I will be looking for her other books for sure, though.
August 20, 2013
Savored this book cover to cover, slowly. It's layered, contemplative, authentic, and subtly revelatory - my favorite kind of writing.
One interesting layer is an exploration of the "middles" of things (of a life, a relationship, a venture such as a farm). I also enjoyed the author's slow, resistant progress toward producing yarn from her sheep. And, her layered self awareness of how she resists.
I hope to visit her farm some day.
One interesting layer is an exploration of the "middles" of things (of a life, a relationship, a venture such as a farm). I also enjoyed the author's slow, resistant progress toward producing yarn from her sheep. And, her layered self awareness of how she resists.
I hope to visit her farm some day.
October 17, 2011
I am pretty sure I would be well entertained by Catherine Friend if she were to write a book about watching paint dry. I find her style funny and engaging. I like the way she writes in short vignettes. I really enjoyed this and plan to read her other work as well. I laughed out loud several times in the first few pages alone...give it a try!
November 18, 2011
a fun book (true) about 2 women who, in their 30's, bought a farm and started raising sheep. The book opens as they are nearing or in their 60's. Lots of funny and heartwarming stories about their experiences and much interesting information about wool. it made me reconsider my decision to replace wool sweaters with fleece!
May 9, 2011
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! I find her writing style very easy to read, so it's not suprising that I devoured it this weekend.
It's also a reality check about farming, aging, responsibilities and creativity all wrapped into one.
Highly recommend!
It's also a reality check about farming, aging, responsibilities and creativity all wrapped into one.
Highly recommend!
May 29, 2011
Loved this just as much as her previous two memoirs, even though her descriptions about aging make me think it might already be too late for me to start my own farm. :) Catherine's warmth and wit draw you into each short chapter--I laughed out loud frequently and already want more.
June 22, 2011
I enjoyed this book very much. I found the descriptions of life on the farm fascinating. The book became a bit disorganized in the later chapters, but by then I wanted to know what would happen next to the writer, so this was not too annoying.
August 22, 2014
A funny, frank memoir that makes me appreciate sheep, their positive impact on the environment, and the importance of family farms. I really enjoyed this book and I've been having fun reading it with my family!
August 23, 2016
Knitters, spinners, weavers, tree-change dreamers - read this book! A memoir of Catherine and her wife Melissa's life as sheep (llama, duck, chook and steer) farmers. Humorous and real. And featuring the conversion of a nay-sayer to full on fibre-freak.
November 15, 2011
loved it, can't wait to read her other books and maybe get my hands on so of that wool!
March 24, 2020
I love me some sheep. Their weirdo eyeballs facing the wrong direction. Their participation in cloning science. Their tendency to charge right at you when you scare them (so bold!). The way you can pet their fuzzy noses forever at the 4-H fair. How they get into trouble. I’m a fanatic of Shaun the Sheep and will watch those six-minute shows over and over. Did you know a brand-new season was dropped on Netflix this week? Be still, my heart! So when I found Sheepish by Catherine Friend, I was pumped.Put together like a collection of mini essays, Sheepish begins with Friend showing a young couple around her farm in an effort to sell it. Sad! The young man seems obsessed with the electric fence and how much it might hurt, and he eventually shocks himself like a total idiot. Although this is a funny start to the memoir, it doesn’t bode well for Friend and her wife trying to sell their beloved farm. Isn’t this book about being farmers? And, more specifically, shepherds?
The next chapter, or maybe mini essay, if you will, defines “sheepish.” Yes, there is the embarrassed version. But Friend prefers the “ish” to mean “of or belonging to. Thinking: Spanish — of or belonging to Spain. Danish — of or belonging to fruit-filled pastries. Sheepish — or or belonging to sheep.” And one not need to own sheep be sheepish (I’m sheepish!). However, Friend is a writer, more attuned to people than barnyards. But her partner, Melissa, wanted to have a farm and so they got one. I learned there are previous books Friend wrote, including Hit by a Farm and The Compassionate Carnivore that I shall have to check out that discuss actually getting a farm and reconciling eating the faces one cares for.
This isn’t your average city dweller buying a farm and getting in over her head memoir. Friend’s grandmother was a shepherd in Montana, and the author is willing to put in the work. Thus, you read about lots of errors, learning how to help and manage sheep, why sheep die, and lots about people crazy about knitting and wool. Because each chapter is so short and reads a bit like a separate piece, each one feels intimate and is easy to digest. I got lots of warm feelings, even if I was reading about the death of lambs after being born, because the whole book felt natural and organic to life processes.
It also helps that Friend knits (ahem) these small chapters together by carrying over moments from previous chapters. As she enters menopause, she can’t stop crying over the fact that Elvis is dead. Elvis tears are referenced in future chapters, and you feel like you’re in on a joke. In another example: Friend shares fellow farmer E.B. White’s (of Charlotte’s Web fame) list of numbers for counting sheep using the Celtic system:
1. Yain
2. Tain
3. Eddero
4. Peddero
5. Pitts
6. Tayter
7. Later
8. Overro
9. Covvero
10. Dix
11. Yain-dix
12. Tain-dix
13. Eddero-dix
14. Peddero-dix
15. Bumfitt
These Celtic numbers come back throughout the memoir, and to great comedic effect (imagine how often one can use “bumfitt” in amusing ways). The whole memoir is herded (ahem) together to make one flock (ahem) of a book.
Even though Sheepish was published in 2011 and shares environmental concerns, it doesn’t feel too dated (well, other than that Britney Spears reference, which was dated in 2011, too). One fact Friend shares is that sheep have been used to prevent forest fires by releasing them in areas with high underbrush growth so the sheep can eat it up. Given that fire outbreaks are constant news now, sheep seem more vital than ever, though sadly the number of sheep and shepherds are declining.
But I never felt like I was getting too much into the factual weeds. Friend combines humor with fact, such as describing how animals are bred on her farm (put the ram in with ewes in the proper month to avoid winter births) vs. how other farmers do things:
Overall, I enjoyed reading Sheepish and mixture of humor, storytelling, and facts it presented. I felt strengthened by reading about two women joining their female farming ancestors. I was tapped into the significance of many women gathering to turn wool into yarn and yarn into clothing, all while sharing their stories. If you’re struggling to read right now, the short chapters and light topic may be just right for you.
This review was originally published at Grab the Lapels.
The next chapter, or maybe mini essay, if you will, defines “sheepish.” Yes, there is the embarrassed version. But Friend prefers the “ish” to mean “of or belonging to. Thinking: Spanish — of or belonging to Spain. Danish — of or belonging to fruit-filled pastries. Sheepish — or or belonging to sheep.” And one not need to own sheep be sheepish (I’m sheepish!). However, Friend is a writer, more attuned to people than barnyards. But her partner, Melissa, wanted to have a farm and so they got one. I learned there are previous books Friend wrote, including Hit by a Farm and The Compassionate Carnivore that I shall have to check out that discuss actually getting a farm and reconciling eating the faces one cares for.
This isn’t your average city dweller buying a farm and getting in over her head memoir. Friend’s grandmother was a shepherd in Montana, and the author is willing to put in the work. Thus, you read about lots of errors, learning how to help and manage sheep, why sheep die, and lots about people crazy about knitting and wool. Because each chapter is so short and reads a bit like a separate piece, each one feels intimate and is easy to digest. I got lots of warm feelings, even if I was reading about the death of lambs after being born, because the whole book felt natural and organic to life processes.
It also helps that Friend knits (ahem) these small chapters together by carrying over moments from previous chapters. As she enters menopause, she can’t stop crying over the fact that Elvis is dead. Elvis tears are referenced in future chapters, and you feel like you’re in on a joke. In another example: Friend shares fellow farmer E.B. White’s (of Charlotte’s Web fame) list of numbers for counting sheep using the Celtic system:
1. Yain
2. Tain
3. Eddero
4. Peddero
5. Pitts
6. Tayter
7. Later
8. Overro
9. Covvero
10. Dix
11. Yain-dix
12. Tain-dix
13. Eddero-dix
14. Peddero-dix
15. Bumfitt
These Celtic numbers come back throughout the memoir, and to great comedic effect (imagine how often one can use “bumfitt” in amusing ways). The whole memoir is herded (ahem) together to make one flock (ahem) of a book.
Even though Sheepish was published in 2011 and shares environmental concerns, it doesn’t feel too dated (well, other than that Britney Spears reference, which was dated in 2011, too). One fact Friend shares is that sheep have been used to prevent forest fires by releasing them in areas with high underbrush growth so the sheep can eat it up. Given that fire outbreaks are constant news now, sheep seem more vital than ever, though sadly the number of sheep and shepherds are declining.
But I never felt like I was getting too much into the factual weeds. Friend combines humor with fact, such as describing how animals are bred on her farm (put the ram in with ewes in the proper month to avoid winter births) vs. how other farmers do things:
This virtual speed mating is called artificial insemination. Basically, you have an expensive ram with great genes and a healthy libido. Instead of dragging him all over the planet to visit the ladies, the farmer gives the ram a plastic cup and two back issues of Totally Shorn Ewes, and soon there’s some sperm available.What could easily be an “ew” moment is made lighter by suggesting the ram has some saucy reading materials.
Overall, I enjoyed reading Sheepish and mixture of humor, storytelling, and facts it presented. I felt strengthened by reading about two women joining their female farming ancestors. I was tapped into the significance of many women gathering to turn wool into yarn and yarn into clothing, all while sharing their stories. If you’re struggling to read right now, the short chapters and light topic may be just right for you.
This review was originally published at Grab the Lapels.
July 9, 2012
Another goodreads member wrote that this author could make a book about watching paint dry entertaining; I think she may be right, in fact, I just ordered a (used) copy of another book of hers (The Compassionate Carnivore), not because I'm on the fence about being a carnivore or anything, I'm just looking forward to reading more of Catherine Friend's writing.
Sheepish is the second of her memoirs of being a (reluctant) sheep farmer I've read, and it was immensely enjoyable, written with great good humor, a bit of sadness, angst, spirituality (not religion), and lots of fascinating lore on sheep, shepherds, wool, wool products and then even more on sheep, shepherds,...........
I highly recommend this one. It's written in short essaylike chapters, so it's easy to put down and pick up again, although I enjoyed it so much I finished it in a few days. Highly recommended.
Sheepish is the second of her memoirs of being a (reluctant) sheep farmer I've read, and it was immensely enjoyable, written with great good humor, a bit of sadness, angst, spirituality (not religion), and lots of fascinating lore on sheep, shepherds, wool, wool products and then even more on sheep, shepherds,...........
I highly recommend this one. It's written in short essaylike chapters, so it's easy to put down and pick up again, although I enjoyed it so much I finished it in a few days. Highly recommended.
August 6, 2019
Two women share their lives, sheep, a few cattle and some fowl on a farm in Minnesota. Catherine Friend's sense of humour pervades these short anecdotes of life on the farm, struggles with live stock, and aging in place. She describes so well and with joy the positives of living with sheep; e.g., that humans receive oxytocin while petting animals, that wool has great undersung qualities that help the earth, and that the joys of weaving, spinning and knitting enhance our lives in powerful ways. I had more than a few laughs with her descriptions.
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