If There's Squash Bugs in Heaven I Ain't Staying: Learning to Make the Perfect Pie, Sing When You Need To, and Find the Way Home with Farmer Evelyn

by Stacia Spragg-Braude

Winner of the 2014 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards for Biography (New Mexico subject) and Best BookDon't let the quaint and homespun title fool you. This book is a beautifully written and engaging homage to Evelyn Curtis Losack, a woman farmer and water rights activist from Corrales, New Mexico, a small community on the northern outskirts of Albuquerque. Through the sensitive journalist eye of writer/photographer Stacia Braude-Spragg, this book is a personal introduction to a life well lived, one with conviction, which will have universal appeal.

200 pages, Hardcover

First published September 25, 2013

Reviews

[Anita Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm reading this. So far, 5 stars. I can't imagine anything I'd want to do more in the chilly evening than sit by the fire and read this some more.

[Kristin Browning-mezel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel so much more connected to this place I’ve spent time admiring and visiting from the city ‘across the river’. The vibrant history of this small farming community seen through the eyes of one of its long time residents was so rich. My visits to any farmers market will forever be transformed with a deep appreciation for the small family farmer.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book. It is a treasure in quiet ways that do not translate into book reviews. Between the lifestyle and the powerful tribute to place, I found myself quietly dreading the end of the book. The photography are like poems that punctuate the story.

[Rebecca Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lovely book was recommended to me by a ranger at Petroglyph National Park. It is a lovely story set in Corrales, New Mexico. The writing poetic. I could feel, taste, smell and hear this little corner of a state I've grown to love so much.

[Bob Finch · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautifully presented book, nicely written, and clearly close to the author's heart. It is a pleasant read about a New Mexico farming village ... or erstwhile farming village. Now more of a bedroom community for the surrounding cities, Corrales is not what it used to be. The year-in-the-life story of an aging matriarch is a metaphor for the village itself. What I felt was lacking was much of a sense of tension. I enjoyed it well enough, but I did not find it compelling. Still, I must say that I enjoyed leafing through to look at the old photos, over and over.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully written book about the life of a small farmer and her effect on the author and the people around her. Perfect read for spring planting season.