Cutting Hill: A Chronicle of a Family Farm

by Alan Pistorius

Recreates a year in the life of the Treadways and their New England dairy farm, which has been in the family for generations, and captures the seasonal events, chores, tragedies, struggles and joys of family farming

279 pages, Hardcover

First published July 7, 1990

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm enjoying this book, it isn't wonderful writing but it does accurately portray real life events on a family dairy farm. It isn't all pretty, but it is real.

[Larry Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an odd little book. It’s like a literary version of a reality show. It’s a writer following the daily life of a very normal family of Vermont dairy farmers and reporting it. there’s no real plot. There’s no weird drama. Just a view into their lives.

I’m not sure how I stumbled upon this book. The thing that intrigued me enough to read, it was that I recognized the name Cutting Hill just in passing, because the town I grew up in had a road named Cutting Hill. Then, I was amazed to see that this book was about a family that I know, from my hometown. That’s what sucked me in to start with. upon reading it, I continued reading because I was in a flashback to my own childhood in Shoreham, Vermont. A small town of barely 700 people, filled with apple orchards and family run dairy Farms. The places the author is describing is my childhood; the families, areas, and local oddities. I can tell you, he certainly captured the daily life of a Family run dairy farm in rural Vermont from the 1970s /80s. I really enjoyed the trip down memory lane.

[Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book, but I think only for people that are really interested in farming. It's not as inspirational as some other farm memoirs. Instead, it focuses more on the day to day realities of running a commercial farm, with a focus on cow dairy. It is extremely detailed in the actual chores and tasks that a family does daily on a farm of this type, including fixing machinery, equipment used, costs and budgeting, and successes and setbacks. The author spent a lot of time directly with the family and it does show an intimacy of real life that is often missing from other farm memoirs. The writing style tends more toward the practical and descriptive, the author doesn't attempt to glamorize or romanticize anything. I would say this is a good book to read for anyone interested in farming, particularly in the northeast or Vermont where this farm is located.