Freedom Farm

by Jennifer Neves

Being born the daughter of surgeons does not make you a surgeon, but what about being the daughter of a farmer? What happens when childhood and on-the-job training are one in the same?

200 pages, Library Binding

Published August 1, 2021

About the author

Jennifer Neves lives and writes in rural Maine. Author of the forthcoming essay collection, Chainsaws and Cherry Burls, and two previous books, Freedom Farm (North Country Press), and Backpack Like You Mean It (Mad Dash Publishing), her essays have appeared in a variety of journals, including Tulip Tree Review, Literary Mama, and Litro Online Magazine. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University.

Reviews

[Jenny Greeley]

Jenny Neves did a fantastic job with this book! I read this book because Jenny is from my hometown (and grew up on the same road). I have fond memories of her family's bean farm and knew a few of her family members. I loved reading about neighbors, cemetery issues, her family and most of all herself. Well done!

[Jessica]

Full disclosure--I read this book before publication, but it just came and I read the final draft. Fantastic. Here is my review:

Living on a Maine farm is not for the faint-of-heart or those without backbone and opinions. Jenny Neves has both, and in her memoir Freedom Farm, we see her grow from a strong farmer’s daughter (one who will stand up to her abusive soccer coach) to a fierce, loving mother now raising her own family within spitting distance of the farm she was raised on. Full of photos and memories that pull us into her childhood and current life, Neves writes with humor, honesty (about nasty neighbors, goats, pigs, her writing, her four children), and an innate storytelling ability. As we move with her through farm seasons and years, we see not only the “cyclical nature of raising crops” but the cycle of a human life, too. This memoir takes us into a world so few have ventured and is a true pleasure to read.

[Stephanie Robert]

I just finished reading “Freedom Farm” by Jennifer Neves. This was both a fun and funny book that I so appreciated during this time of isolation. Being from Vermont, I appreciated Neves’ tales of growing up in rural Maine, with relatable and quirky chapters on weeding, raising animals, raising young children to love nature, and more. An enjoyable read, and a lovely celebration of how our personalities and values both shape and are shaped by our experiences with rural life.

[Alicia Hoffman]

I loved this memoir. As a wannabe farmer living the city life, I found solace in the way Neves focuses her attention on the specifics of the natural world; from picking rocks, adopting naughty goats, to the trials and joys of living in an old house, the author captured the essence of her surroundings, her roots, and the roots she is now putting down as she raises a family in Maine.

[Diane T.]

Jennifer’s book brings to life her experiences during her childhood in her family farm in Maine. Her wit caused me to laugh aloud. Jennifer moves onto her life on the homestead she is creating with her husband and children. Her writing is exquisite. Her learning through her narratives are illuminating. I highly recommend this book.

[JoAnn Beasley]

Because this book was about growing up in Maine, I wanted to read it. It is a collection of short stories - funny, quirky and interesting.

[Katherine Hall]

This book gave me such nostalgia for childhood and home it's crazy. The author embodies the state of Maine through her writing.

[Becky Briggs]

this person thinks outside my box...

[Linda]

If you like well-written creative nonfiction essays, and farms, and Maine, and insightful wise writers, you’ll love this exquisite book by Jennifer Neves. “I am afraid of forgetting. No, that’s not quite right. I’m afraid of losing those things that help me remember. My father’s books, that office, the potbelly woodstove, the kitchen sink with pipes that froze…the giant jar of coins at the base of the stairs—to me, these things are sacred. And even though I have lost their box, here they are in words.”