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The Reluctant Farmer: Memoir of an Unexpected Journey
Cathryn Wellner never expected her life to include muddy boots, squawking chicks, or two-humped camels. But a move from Seattle to rural British Columbia swept her into a decade of farming life she hadn’t planned—complete with runaway animals, wild weather, and more surprises than one woman should reasonably face.
What begins as a hopeful fresh start becomes a true story of rural life, midlife reinvention, and the steep, funny, sometimes heartbreaking lessons of becoming a reluctant farmer. From midwifing ewes and blow-drying wet chicks to dodging amorous camels and coaxing stubborn pigs, Wellner learns that back-to-the-land living is equal parts chaos, humility, humour, and wonder.
If you’ve ever dreamed of moving to the country, raising animals, or starting a simpler life, this memoir is either your inspiration—or your warning.
If it cools the dream, you can always admire starry skies and leaping lambs from someone else’s pasture. If it stirs something wild in you…well, consider yourself warned.
Funny, tender, and rich with nature writing, The Reluctant Farmer is a warm, insightful memoir for anyone who
humorous memoirs about real lifestories of starting over or reinventing yourselfrural living and back-to-the-land adventureswomen’s memoirs with heart and honestyanimal stories with more personality than common senseuplifting true stories of resilienceRead at your own risk. You may be inspired to try something entirely new—and a little bit wild.
What begins as a hopeful fresh start becomes a true story of rural life, midlife reinvention, and the steep, funny, sometimes heartbreaking lessons of becoming a reluctant farmer. From midwifing ewes and blow-drying wet chicks to dodging amorous camels and coaxing stubborn pigs, Wellner learns that back-to-the-land living is equal parts chaos, humility, humour, and wonder.
If you’ve ever dreamed of moving to the country, raising animals, or starting a simpler life, this memoir is either your inspiration—or your warning.
If it cools the dream, you can always admire starry skies and leaping lambs from someone else’s pasture. If it stirs something wild in you…well, consider yourself warned.
Funny, tender, and rich with nature writing, The Reluctant Farmer is a warm, insightful memoir for anyone who
humorous memoirs about real lifestories of starting over or reinventing yourselfrural living and back-to-the-land adventureswomen’s memoirs with heart and honestyanimal stories with more personality than common senseuplifting true stories of resilienceRead at your own risk. You may be inspired to try something entirely new—and a little bit wild.
268 pages, Paperback
Published October 15, 2025
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