The Salt Stones: Seasons of a Shepherd's Life

by Helen Whybrow

“Helen Whybrow is a to-the-bone writer, and this is a to-the-bone book—beautiful, real, full of life.”—Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

“Sheep have helped me become a good shepherd, not just to them, but to a place that is my sustenance and joy as well as my unending labor and worry."

In the heart of Vermont’s Green Mountains, Helen Whybrow and her partner set out to restore an old two-hundred-acre farm. Knowing that “belonging more than anything requires participation,” they begin to intertwine their lives with the land. But soon after releasing a flock of Icelandic sheep onto the worn-out fields, Whybrow realizes that the art of shepherding extends far beyond the flock and fences of Knoll Farm.

In prose both vivid and lean, The Salt Stones offers an intimate and profoundly moving story of what it means to care for a flock and truly inhabit a piece of land. The shepherd’s life unfolds for Whybrow in the seasons and cycles of farming and family—birthing lambs, fending off coyotes, rescuing lost sheep in a storm, and raising children while witnessing her mother’s decline. Exploring the interdependence of animals, as well as of the earth and ourselves, Whybrow reflects on the ways sheep connect her to place and to the ancient practice of shepherding. 

Evocative, affectionate, and illuminating, The Salt Stones sings of a way of life that is at once ancient and entirely contemporary, inspiring us all to seek greater intimacy and a sense of belonging wherever our home place may be.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Nature, Animals, Audiobook, Biography Memoir, Science

275 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 3, 2025

Reviews

[Dan Brayton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every page of this book, which took me on a totally original journey through the highs and lows of being a hard-working shepherd, mother, and daughter living in the mountains of Vermont. I especially liked the unflinching way the author describes the biggest things in life, such as death, sickness, joy, suffering, and parenting, in vivid vignettes from her own experiences that never feel self-indulgent and never drag on. The wisdom that comes from living close to the land and with the constant companionship of animals (mostly sheep) that are born, die, and in some cases slaughtered is profound and offers an unusual perspective on life in the modern world. There are no wasted words in this extremely well-crafted work of literary nonfiction. It's clear that the author is a very talented and accomplished writer, and each chapter held me captivated and wanting more.

[Devin Redmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been awhile since I sticky noted so many beautiful sentences in a book.

I loved Helen Whybrow’s 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘵 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴.

Her words “I didn’t want to sing only of loss, but to sing of the immensity and wonder of what I’ve found, what has been generously given to me, what I hold dearly and deeply cherish” is what the book is about, though the words don’t exactly pinpoint that the book is about home, nature, sheep, and being a mother and daughter and a human in this world.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘵 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 made me think of many people in my life, namely Lynn and his immense love for his prairie land.

This book won’t appeal to everyone, but for me it was a notable 5 / 5 stars!

: The thing people don’t tell you, that’s too big to talk about, is the fear that comes the moment you realize—the moment you dig a hole in the rain—that if anything ever happens to this child, you cannot imagine how you will possibly survive. There isn’t another love like this. It’s beautiful and terrible. (13)
: How do we look on such a life and make sense of it? Or is there none to be made? Is it enough to know that each life in its creation is essential, part of the earth’s regeneration and abundance, and that each death is also an essential and equal part of the earth’s fecundity? (13)
: His words found the ragged nerve endings of new motherhood and began, in ways that I didn’t yet understand, to connect the mundane in my life to the mystic. (20)
: …and the baby was like the stone of gravity we all came toward in our wanderings, pausing to look down on her as she slept. (12)
: As a family we have talked about how, for Indigenous people here in the Americas and elsewhere, the apocalypse already happened. For enslaved Africans it already happened. In Gaza and Sudan, as I write this, it is happening now. For disempowered populations on marginal lands and in toxic waste sites all over the world it is already happening. For us, for now, we have the privilege of imagining it. (114)
: Me, I’m trying to remember that letting go of something is not the same as losing it. (148)
: What does it mean that our culture is so intent on preserving the ageless mind when at the same time it teaches us so little to do with our hands, our bodies, our hearts. (199)
: Unexpectedly, my story of the land—and of the twenty-five generations of sheep who have taught me to observe and to endure—is also about being a daughter to a mother who is dying and a mother to a daughter who is leaving home….the need to make meaning, to write things down, to hold what is. (237)
: Belonging is a two-way embrace. It begins the moment someplace or someone says to you, “Welcome,” and you receive the gift. You set your bags down inside a door, inside a heart. (243)
: She might tell me she was lonely, but that women understand loneliness, that even when we’re not alone we can be lonely, because in the arc of history we were the ones who stayed, who swept, who tended, that this is embedded in our bones. (246)
: It’s a kind of noticing akin to falling in love, or having a child; when you begin to fully see all the fantastic, alien, mind-blowing, beautiful, and generous creatures and formations of nature, you feel as if you will come apart with joy and also with fear of losing this thing that you can now feel sleeping on your chest, breathing in your face, and wrapping its fingers trustingly around yours. (260)

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A peaceful, beautifully written exposition of life on a 200 acre sheep farm. I learned history of variety of sheep and how they came to New England, uses of some plants as they relate to sheep raising - things I wouldn't have thought I would be interested in. It was a calming read, probably not for everyone, but I really enjoyed it.

[Tayler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A life changing inspiring read. Her life and story are calls of hope for me and my future.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very beautiful reflections on a life I wish I were built for.

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a beautiful book! I am not really sure how to even describe it. Yes, it's about sheep and grass farming, written by a sheep farmer in Vermot, but it's also SO much more than that. Whybrow really has a way with words and she offers some beautiful and unique insights.

She explores sheep farming (and farming in general) from pretty much every aspect and angle you could think of- environmental, historical, social, etc. The way she describes the relationship between humans and the land I found particularly moving.

She has a strong grasp of the challenges facing our communities and our environment, and she explains all this very clearly, but still offers a lot of hope. I loved it. If I hadn't mostly listened to it (only occasionally using my kindle), I would have A LOT more highlights.

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My dreams of a shepherd's life have been crushed.

[Mary Nolan-Fesmire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up in 2 farming families, I am familiar with many of the things she spoke about. Loved this book & her discussion of nature!

[Bonny · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Salt Stones is a beautifully written meditation on what it means to live in relationships with land, animals, and family. Helen Whybrow’s prose is both lyrical and grounded, weaving together the visceral details of farm life, like birthing lambs in the cold of late winter, battling predators, shearing sheep, and harvesting blueberries, with reflections on stewardship, resilience, and belonging.

What struck me most is the balance between the daily grit of farm work and the larger sense of rhythm and meaning that Whybrow finds in the cycles of life and death. The book doesn’t romanticize shepherding or land stewardship; it acknowledges the exhaustion, the heartbreak, and the constant need to adapt. Yet at the same time, there’s a deep tenderness in the way she connects her care for the sheep and the farm with her love for her family and her responsibility to future generations.

This is not a fast-paced book. it moves in seasons rather than chapters, and its power lies in its quiet accumulation of moments. At times the meditative tone can feel a little heavy, but the writing is gorgeous and the reflections are well worth lingering over.

For readers who enjoy memoirs rooted in place, nature writing that doesn’t shy away from difficulty, and thoughtful explorations of what it means to truly belong to a landscape, The Salt Stones will be a rewarding read.

[Stephen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish. So, so, so much description of things not even relevant to the story. I feel like that makes up the bulk of the words on the page. Very and repetitively preachy, on topics with which I agree with the author, but do not need to hear about every other page, basically said the same way every time.

[M Soltis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was so interesting to read for me, but I think the target audience is a bit focused. I am a knitter and am fascinated by the whole process of how quality yarn comes to be that this book kept me riveted to it. I am not sure that would be so for the average reader. It is a lovely memoir with a rewarding philosophical ending. I loved it.

[Richard Koerner · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely wonderful book about shepherding, sheep, and living on the land in a good way. Much philosophy and Jean Giono is often mentioned and quoted. It is a meditational book.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes me want to be an actual shepherd

[Jayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was recommended by Maureen Dowd so I had to pick it up. It is a memoir about a family living on a sheep farm. You get a description of all of the seasons in their life and on the farm. The book goes into a great amount of detail on the ecology of the farm through history which I fast forwarded through. A good portion of this book was just a snoozer. A similar book, Raising Hare, is a 5* book for me. I’m glad this one is over. 2.5*

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is perhaps the most beautiful book I’ve ever read in my life.

[Cor T · Rating 3 out of 5]

This referenced so many familiar people and places that it could have been a post on Front Porch Forum. And, honestly, if it had been short enough to be a post, I might have appreciated it more. But I'm not a shepherd or a farmer, so I'm not the book's target audience.
Loved:
-Learning how completely badass my former hockey teammate and professional sheep shearer Gwen is (and that she's still going strong)
-A story about place written about places I know (her farms are in Cornish, NH and Waitsfield, VT (Putney School is mentioned)
-A story about people in our time trying to maintain ancient practices that kept humans alive and the land productive for millennia, many of them familiar names such as Donella H. Meadows
Liked:
-Getting to know the life of a modern-day shepherd - I have shepherding friends in East Montpelier and can better appreciate how all-consuming it is
-Her experience of raising a farm kid in today's world
Didn't need:
-Entire chapter on coyotes
-Entire chapter on sparrows
-Any chapter-starting quotes from Jean Giano's The Serpent of Stars. It's apparently about the shepherding way of life, but the quotes were extremely abstract and didn't add anything. Why do authors think they need a quote to start chapters???? (Note: I am a fan of The Man Who Planted Trees so it's not that I don't appreciate Jean Giano)

Looking forward to my book group reviews!

[Brittin · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 | "Most people know animals as pets...or as units as production...pastoralism gives us a third way, in which the relationship with animals is so many things — companionship, love, ceremony, livelihood, food, clothing, and also an important doorway into the wild community of plants and beings that are all around us, and are not so easily seen."

I can honestly say I have never read a book about sheep farming, and I'm so glad this was the first. Whybrow's words are a meditation of the extraordinary in the ordinary, the profoundness we encounter daily in the natural world, of perseverance, letting go, and of respect.

"Pastoralists trade efficiency for relationship. For an innate sense of reciprocity with land, animals and people."

This book is about shepherd's life, but it's themes transcend this humble profession.

"To practice belonging is an act of resistance against diminishment — diminishment of others. and of the more than human world that offers all of us a home."

I will think of this book fondly in the future, especially when I see a sheep.

"You don't have to become a sheep farmer to cultivate a shepherd's mind, which is about finding a way to listen, to tend, and to immerse in the living world."

Audiobook: 7h 48m

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful read. Helen Whybrow has written about her life, living on 200 acres in the Green Mountains of Vermont, raising sheep and tending the land, while raising a family of her own. This book is a hymn to nature, to the animals and birds and bugs that live with us and around us, to the sheep she tends and the land she and her family work. She advocates for becoming closer to the natural world in these challenging times we live in.There is so much information packed in here and I learned a LOT. I have so much respect for her. I absolutely loved this book.

"The taker of the lamb can be the deity, the trickster who is also the thunder maker and brings the rain, the balancer of life and death that helps us see our humility and purpose as one cog in a greater, infinitely wiser wheel".

"You don't have to become a sheep farmer to cultivate a shepherd's mind, which is about finding a way to listen, to tend, and to immerse in the living world".

[Claire Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect delicious beautiful book. Felt very special as I finish my second vermont winter and have felt more in touch with subtle shifts in the land. Knitting a cardigan with local wool and learned so much more about the history and ecology of sheep and shepherding. The writing and poetry mixed with the realities of the work was so magnificent. A life that could be easily romanticized but is presented in such a full and honest way that it goes beyond that and expands on what it means to find a sense of belonging.

“Each material has its own life history, its own constellation of elements and matter essential in the creation of life on earth, as well as in the twinned cycle of decay.”

[Jan Priddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I were a Biology teacher, I would assign half the class to read SILENT SPRING* and the other half to read THE SALT STONES. Discuss. The science is solid and each author makes an impassioned plea for humanity, nature, ecology, and the survival of our souls.

This memoir is laced with deep knowledge about Whybrow's place in the world, from soil to sky, daughters to mother, sheep and coyote, everything that grows, inside and out. It is beautifully written, unsentimental but rich in sentiment, and wise about living n the world.

*Years ago, I was shocked to discover that the Marine Biology teacher at the high school where I taught had never read Rachel Carson.

[Becky Ohman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy………. this woman GETS IT…..!! I’m having trouble even articulating how much this book means to me. It was like reading a prophecy of my own life from the perspective of someone further up the road. Beautiful and heartbreaking and gross and hopeful. A masterpiece of language and observation. FCKSKSKSJDJD

[Seawitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this book.

Beautifully written (and read) account of one family’s life on the land in VT.


She shares from other’s writings including this:

Three Rules of Shepherding

(From James Rebanks’ The Shepherds Life)

1. It’s not about you. It’s about the sheep and the land.
2. You can’t win sometimes.
3. Shut up and go and do the work.

[Shannon Sartain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told someone i was reading this and described it to them and they asked if it was more exciting than i expected it to me. No! It was exactly what i expected and I adored it. A perfect book to fall asleep to.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

very well written, but boring. it felt like poetry to me; I should find more meaning than I did.

[Sue Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A peaceful narrative of the close relationship between man and the land, the stewardship of the land and how we can help preserve the balance

[El · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio with horrible narrator with absolute tons of mispronunciations and outright word substitutions, makes me wonder if the author even listened to her butcher the work

[Brian Cullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my usual fare but was gifted this national book award long listed non-fiction. Helen Wybrow weaves environmental concerns and impacts of climate change and other human impact on the environment into her well written descriptions of various aspects of being a small scale, organic sheep farmer in Vermont. It’s obviously not a suspense novel and won’t have you staying up to get “one more chapter” before bed. However, if you want a contemplative read that may lead you to assess your own life choices, this will do the trick without being preachy.

[Rose Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

"'My boy,' he said, 'don't think you know everything. You know the sheep, but to know is to be separate from. Now try to love; to love is to join. Then, you will be a shepherd.'"

"Nature, I thought, is increasingly a metaphor for our own troubles, which is powerful medicine for us, but it doesn't help nature. It's logical that as nature dies around the world, we engage with her more often as an abstraction, keeping her alive in our imaginations only. But this won't be enough."

Really beautiful writing.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written memoir about the seasons of shepherding sheep, it touches so many senses. Helen was a writer before her days of shepherding, very descriptive writing style. She runs Knoll Farm in Vermont with her husband, each chapter describes the seasons and cycles of farming, family, birthing lambs, fending off coyotes while witnessing her mother’s decline. One chapter was extremely difficult to read, I could tell it was even distressing for Helen, she does her best to write it with deep insights.

[Bill Leimbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

A memoir to answer your questions about what it would be like to live on a Vermont farm raising sheep.

“I have read that there is a stage in a child’s early development of language when words are primary and fixed: Fire is the certain flare of heat and fear the moment you understood the word for the first time; kettle is the one kettle in particular shape and color that your parent pointed to and said the word. Perhaps, even after we’ve grown and learned to abstract language, the images of those first words, if not the words themselves, make up our psyches forever.”