Field Notes: A City Girl's Search for Heart and Home in Rural Nova Scotia

by Sara Jewell

Reflections on country life on Canada’s eastern “Gentle humor and prose as clear and lilting as the song of the hermit thrush at dusk.” —Deborah Carr, author of The Story of Naturalist Mary Majka Sara Jewell has lived at eighteen different addresses—but there was one that remained Pugwash Point Road in rural Nova Scotia. She was nine years old the first time her family vacationed in the small fishing village about an hour from the New Brunswick border, and the red soil stained her heart. Life, as it’s wont to do, eventually took Jewell away from the east coast. But when her marriage and big-city life started to crumble, she wanted only one a fresh start in Pugwash.Field Notes includes forty-one essays on the differences, both subtle and drastic, between city life and country living. From curious neighbors and unpredictable weather to the reality of roadkill and the wonders of wildlife, award-winning narrative journalist Sara Jewell strikes the perfect balance between honest self-examination and humorous observation—in a delightful memoir accented with original drawings by Joanna Close. “A born storyteller . . . her sharp-witted but kind-hearted portraits of country people, places, and customs make for a remarkable first book.” —Harry Thurston, author of A Place Between the Tides and the Deer Yard

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Canada, Biography

291 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 6, 2021

About the author

Sara Jewell is an award-winning narrative journalist whose articles and essays have been published in newspapers and magazines across Canada.
She is the author of Alphabet of Faith: 26 Words about Faith, Ethics, and Spirituality (Wood Lake Books, 2021) and Field Notes: A City Girl's Search for Heart and Home in Rural Nova Scotia (Nimbus, 2016).
She will publish a children's book in the spring of 2023.
Born and raised in Ontario, Sara now lives near Port Howe, Nova Scotia, with her husband, where she is a writer, a substitute teacher, a lay worship leader, and a keeper of chickens.

Reviews

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sara Jewell was born in Toronto and raised in Cobourg and Trenton, ON. During the summers when she was growing up, she spent time vacationing in rural Nova Scotia with her family. She's had various jobs over the years including as an educator, in radio and as an essayist.

When her first marriage broke up, she was living in Vancouver, BC ... she packed up her stuff (including her dog) and headed east to Ontario to be with her parents and spent some time in Pugwash, NS. She met and married met Dwayne, a "country boy", moving to his farm. This book is a collection of her essays about living there.

The topics cover her friends, family, neighbours, local wildlife, farm animals, pets, living in the country and more. Keep in mind that they were written by a "city" girl now living in the country. I'm the opposite of Sara ... I'm originally from Nova Scotia and have been away for 30+ years. So in some ways, I could relate (but in reverse perhaps at times?) to some of her stories.

I enjoyed this book. I liked the writing style and found it conversational. As a head's up, there is some minor swearing. My favourite story was The Rural Wavelength, which was about the "behavior genetically implanted" in Nova Scotians because they wave at everyone ... she surmises that waving must be how Maritimers got their reputation for being so friendly.

Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2019/05...

[Sue Slade · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with all books that contain over 40 short stories, there will be ones that you love, ones that you'll like and ones that you won't like. This was the first book I've read that contained many short stories, that said, during a time of a pandemic this was a perfect read for me as concentration levels are at an all-time low and reading these shorts stories was all I could manage. I would recommend this book for others who, right now are having a similarly hard time reading a full-length novel and who live or have lived on the East Coast as the stories will resonate with Maritimers.

[Rogan]

I am completely and utterly touched by what Sara has achieved with this novel. She has taken her years as an inplant from the city in rural Nova Scotia (coincidentally where I am from) and woven it into a heartwarming, poignant tale full of wonder and awe, loss and grief, with a constant and genuine vulnrebility that makes it a truly memorable collection of stories.
I am thankful to have purchased this book when I did. A must read for every martimer, come from away or not.

[Leasue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of the book through Goodreads Giveaways. I enjoyed the book greatly and have recommended it to others. I enjoyed the articles, and as a bit of spoiler-the funeral for the mouse was the best story, made me laugh out loud and scare the cat.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it! It wasn't really what I had expected (I think I expected a lot more chicken talk),but I absolutely loved it! Not being from NS originally myself, many bits in this book made me crack up and say "its so true!" before reading the passage to my husband.
Theres a whole chapter about Nova Scotians and waving and it had me chuckling the whole time. As much as I loved the whole book, this chapter really hits the nail on the head and was probably my favourite.

[Ian Yarington · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the heart felt looks at things in life and it makes it even better that it's someone's journey into something new. I also like the fact that it's broken down into little essays and easily digestible. I may feel this way because I'm a city kid that hasn't ever lived the farm life or ventured out of the city much.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone from Nova Scotia, I found this book to be an interesting look at my province from an outsider's point of view. Her stories about her friends and husband were relate-able and humorous. Overall I did enjoy this book.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this collection of short essays on rural living in Nova Scotia. Sara's stories filled me up and made me further appreciate how lucky I am to live in a rural community in this beautiful province. While I don't own farm land, chickens, or dogs, I lived vicariously through Sara and while reading I got to experience a cozy farm life. I will reread a handful of her essays again as their messages were enjoyable and heart warming.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful and honest book. I am a suburban chick who's been living in the country for seven years and found myself nodding a lot while reading. Sars has a beautiful way of describing the everyday. Highly recommended.

[Calee Spinney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite what I expected

I think I misread the description when I bought this; I thought it would be about the author’s acclimation to Nova Scotia rather than vignettes looking back after living there for years — kind of like a Canadian version of Under the Tuscan Sun. It was enjoyable but lacked the depth I was looking for. Being a native Nova Scotian who has been away for 30 years, I was looking for a window into what it might be like to go back... and unfortunately, this didn’t really deliver.

[Joy Treacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful, insightful, and interesting book. I love the author's poignant descriptions of Nova Scotia; so delightful it made me want to go there one day! As put forth in a series of essays, the depiction of events and journeys throughout her life, tugged at my heart; it was as if I felt both her sorrows and joys. This is the author's first book, and the manner in which it's written displays wit, charm, and bravery. Highly recommend reading it, you won't be disappointed!

[Kim Koi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as I journeyed through New Brunswick, PEI, and Nova Scotia. The authors perspective helped me to see differently, and understand more of what I was seeing. After getting off the highway at the Pugwash exit, I really wanted to go find Sara’s home and knock on her door. Of course, I didn’t. But I loved getting to know her and her beloved Nova Scotia.

[Kimberley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars aren't enough! Only two books have made me cry before. This one had me crying more than once. And laughing out loud. I wish Sara and I were friends. She writes like I think.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Would love to meet the author

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to pick up for one of the quick stories!

[Antoinette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the little snippets of a little life ! the merits and oddities of maritimers ! but, tbh, writing style didn't quite pull me along in the way I was expecting it to (and I LOVE a talk-y voice)

[Trina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! The essays are so well written, I feel like I"m there with her. I didn't grow up on a farm, but I had a grandfather that did his own gardening, and while he may have had a grade 4 education, he knew a lot about the earth, harvesting, planting and raising pigs. I miss him and his knowledge, which is forever gone. I feel books like this bring me closer to my Grampy, and to my Nova Scotia, even being at the other end of it, far from Pugwash. A lovely read, great for country and city folk, alike.

[Becca Rahey · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Nova Scotian city girl this book made me miss home, and especially 'the shore' near Fox Harbour where I spent my summers as a child. The essays were lovely and left me longing for the maritime lifestyle that seems so far away now that I've moved a few provinces west.