Surrender

by Jennifer Acker

A woman retreats from academic life in New York City to manage a family goat farm in New England, a novel that Richard Russo calls “splendid and provides what I crave from all vividly drawn characters worth spending time with and a richly rendered place for them to inhabit."  

Lucy Richard has enjoyed a two-decade-long, successful career in public relations in New York City when she feels compelled to move back to rural Massachusetts to try to save her father’s farm. Returning to her childhood home at age 47 is hard enough, but the difficulties multiply once she’s settled her determination to raise dairy goats and make cheese is hampered at first by her total inexperience, and then by the sudden loss of her farming mentor. To make matters worse, her husband, Michael, who followed her to the farm reluctantly and who has made a disastrous financial decision, is suddenly in severely declining health. 

Lucy finds solace in Sandy, a girlhood companion who quickly becomes more than a friend, but their new intimacy places the Richard farm in the crosshairs of Sandy’s employer, a solar energy company. How Lucy contends with the precariousness—at once financial, physical and emotional— of her new life, and with the competing passions and obligations that grow within and around her, is at the heart of this intimate drama of love and loss, of desire and friendship, and of the alluring possibilities of second acts.

Genres: Queer, Fiction, LGBT, Adult, Contemporary

323 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 14, 2026

About the author

Jennifer Acker is founder and editor in chief of The Common. Her short stories, essays, translations, and reviews have appeared in the Washington Post, Literary Hub, n+1, Guernica, The Yale Review, and Ploughshares, among other places. Acker has an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars and teaches writing and editing at Amherst College, where she directs the Literary Publishing Internship and organizes LitFest. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband. The Limits of the World is her debut novel.

Reviews

[Misha]

This was decent but the characterisation was pretty shallow. We skip period of time, conversations, and so I was unexpectedly unengaged for most of this. The main love story also seems like a relationship that is absolutely going to fail (and honestly, should, if two people are in love but have SUCH different life goals and priorities as well as a complete failure to have any big conversations).

I did learn a lot about farms and goatkeeping, so it wasn't a total loss but I don't think I found the main story particularly engaging.

[Bill Silva]

You’ve got to really love goats…and frustrating main characters who can’t make up their minds…to love this novel. I did like it—it is, admittedly, a mostly uneventful story with, however, much sympathy for everyone involved and their mildly complicated lives. Only mid-level drama, and workmanlike prose—but sometimes quiet novels are just what I’m looking for.

[Katie]

This felt a little clumsily written to me. I think there was a beautiful story in there but it wasn't elegantly told (or told with any real point of view).

[Mitchell Daddario]

I learned a lot about rural communities and small farming. So many aspects of this book are relatable...aging, career changes, illness, elder care, complications of love, financial struggle & forgiveness.

I was most interested in Sandy & Lucy's relationship. They are 2 beautiful people trying their best and being pretty honest to themselves and others. I also really respect Michael. I think he knew about the relationship Lucy had with Sandy. He was subtely letting Lucy know that he approved of their relationship & that she shouldn't hold back on exploring it because of him. People are meant to be loved and Lucy has been a wonderful partner to Michael through their whole life. I hope Lucy can find someone in the future that is more aligned with her. I think Lucy & Sandy splitting was the right move. Regardless, Lucy has a loving community & she will be more than fine (if not better) without a partner after Michael passes. I also hope Sandy's doctors are wrong about the possibility of MS :(

I lived in West Dover, VT for 2 months during a winter & drove all over the state (Burlington, Rutland, Montpellier). This book brought me back to those cold quiet drives. It's emotional; there's a lot of beauty and horror in those lands.

I enjoyed reading this, thank you for writing this! It transported me back to New England & touches on a lot of topics that are affecting my personal life right now too. I need to try goat kefir...I want that microbiome.

[Tim Silvestre]

Reading Surrender resembles drinking a fine Red Burgundy from France, with a beautiful opening followed by an organic transition to pure excellence that lasts until the last drop is poured or, in this case, page turned. Jenn Acker writes emotively; her lithe yet somehow luxuriant text abounds throughout the novel with interesting, real-life characters, including several darling, adorable and ever mischievous goats. Her respect, affection and admiration for struggling farmers, harried goat herders, immigrant shopkeepers and declining seniors are extremely poignant and beautiful. While not a classic page turning mystery, Surrender has a fast pace and a host of storylines that made me eager to read more quickly, seeking resolution, hoping for the best. Ironically, her writing is so elegant, her metaphors so profound that I often would stop after 3 or 4 pages and visualize the panorama vividly on display in her prose, sometimes rereading particularly eloquent phrases and pages. I plan to reread Surrender again soon, even knowing how the many stories turns out, as I want to immerse myself in Jenn Acker’s gorgeous use of language and once again visit the complex and fully realize world she has created.

[Laura Geringer Bass]

I loved SURRENDER by Jennifer Acker! First who could resist the playful goats with their shoebox pupils, particularly Felicia!
Who would not identify with Lucy’s labor of love—her attempt to save her father’s farm and her difficult journey towards that goal? Who would not appreciate the subtle
analysis of a laugh--a recognition that deepens the sound? Who would not identify with the resentful translation of a neighbor's “You’re a brave woman” to the subtext: “You’re a foolish woman.” Who can resist the pull of questions like: “Why did I ever leave?Why did I think the stuff
of life did not happen momentously, importantly in my backyard.” And who would not be moved by Michael’s mental decline and the unravelling of a marriage in the face of it?
If you’re looking for a fine novel to read this summer, look no further!

[Emily Everett]

As a former farm girl, I loved being back on the farm in this novel! But I will say... come for the goats, stay for the great small-town community dynamics and incredibly well-drawn characters! Everything is done with such nuance and care - nothing feels predictable or cliche at all, which can be hard to pull off with back-to-the-farm dynamics. I loved this cast of quirky characters, loved the romance, loved the grit and beauty of farm life, and the way it manages to feel both hyper-focused on a unique situation and still comment on a lot of larger dynamics that are happening in the world right now, and not just in rural areas (health care, land development, queer life, community support, etc.). Really, really recommend this read!

[cayla]

“Im overwhelmed by my love for her, and the size of my surrender” I feel like I could raise goats now, but I’ve learned I wouldn’t want to. Lost of surprising moments of emotion and empathy. At first I hated that she cheated. As the book went on i found myself understanding and feeling the weight that she felt constantly. So many hard choices and worry. In the end she chose her self and it’s something we see she struggled with for so long. I’m happy she ended up following her heart. Not a dull book, I kept wanting to read it. Some moments felt boring but it was part of the process.

[Novels and Nummies]

I really wish I had liked this!

I found this book to be underdeveloped in a lot of ways. The writing and transitions were stilted which really impacted the flow of the story.

My biggest problem was that I did not like the main characters new romance/relationship. I did not get any chemistry from them which made it so that couldn’t really root for them.

The goat farming stuff was fun, and for the most part it was accurate enough to actual farm business/ownership. I like that this book highlighted the struggles farmers go through and how that can affect mental health

[Anna Dunlap]

The author says that this book is about “women in mid-life, disruption and change and the beating hearts of small towns”. She weaves the stories and the adjacent conflicts and moral choices together so well and describes the essence of small farm life so accurately. She even had me liking the goats! I had the pleasure of attending the authors book talk at one of my favorite east coast bookstores!

[Leslie]

I’ve always been fascinated with farm life. This book took me into the daily life of a goat farm, the hard work and long hours needed to make a go of it. It’s also about love and loss and commitment to your dreams. I wish there was more about the cheese making, I would have loved to learn about that process.

[Renee Haerle]

“We often wanted to be boys. But that’s because we misunderstood what it meant to be women. We thought we had to be perfect. When really we needed to own up to what we wanted.”

A book about following passions, outgrowing yourself, and ultimate sacrifice. Really enjoyed this one. Great work, Jennifer Acker!

[Camille]

Andover - Memorial Hall Library FICTION ACKER Due 9/5/2026 31330009890132
Chelmsford Public Library FIC/ACKER Fiction 31480012050867
Georgetown Peabody Library FIC ACKER Due 9/4/2026 32120001525698
Middleton - Flint Public Library F ACKER Fiction 32126002111131
Salisbury Public Library FIC ACKER

[Courtney]

One of the more stilted books I’ve read in quite some time — almost as if someone tried stamping Gilmore Girls onto a Steinbeck novel (or vice versa) — where genuine, universal human emotion and experience was completely rushed and totally unearned.

[Susan Welch]

Tremendous Tale of Hardship and Resiliance

A great story of the trade offs required to leave the corporate life and take up farming. Wonderful. Highly recommended!

[Tiffany Farfan]

3.5

[Aidan Gannon]

Better than I anticipated and has a Clarkson’s Farm esque quality to it that I really dig. Ultimately I didn’t really care about the emotional beats or characters, but it was fun to be on a farm

[Katia]

An engaging read about midlife, women, and goats in a lovely western mass town. It does make one less inclined to romanticize farming. And goats.

[Hannah]

3.5

[Granger Omen]

Loved it!! Engrossing at every turn.

[Alexis Glasgow]

If you don’t love goats or want to have a farm one day you’re gonna hate this but this book was made for me. Solid 3.5 - loved the main character and her dedication to the goats.

[Gabrielle Korn]

A woman gives up her life as a successful publicist in the city to become a goat farmer with her aging husband in tow, only to discover that a) goat farming is really hard, b) her husband has given away all their money and is declining at a much faster rate than she anticipated and c) she might be a lesbian. It's totally original and beautifully written!