It was hard to discern that they even liked each other. She talked about the magic between herself and Mark, but none of it came through in her story. Even the scene describing their wedding came off as stressful, panicked, and completely disorganized when I'm sure there was some humor to be found there. But as a negative, this book was so solemn and serious! Was life on their farm really all work and no play? There wasn't an even an ounce of humor or comedic descriptions of anything funny or lighthearted or playful. I absolutely adored the way she described the food and the meals they ate, so realistic I could almost taste them. I loved so many of her descriptions of the land, the animals, the contradictory feelings she battled as she set out on her new life. I love books about new homesteaders or farmers, as well as real-life stories about people who were plunked out of one life and plopped into another. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio. In The Dirty Life, Kristin discovers the wrenching pleasures of physical work, learns that good food is at the center of a good life, falls deeply in love, and finally finds the engagement and commitment she craved in the form of a man, a small town, and a beautiful piece of land. Every Friday evening, all year round, over a hundred people travel to Essex Farm to pick up their weekly share of the “whole diet” - beef, pork, chicken, milk, eggs, maple syrup, grains, flours, dried beans, herbs, fruits, and 40 different vegetables - produced by the farm. Kristin and Mark’s plan to grow everything needed to feed a community was an ambitious idea, and a bit romantic. The Dirty Life is the captivating chronicle of the couple’s first year on Essex Farm, from the cold North Country winter through their harvest-season wedding in the loft of the barn. On an impulse, she shed her city self and started a new farm with him on 500 acres near Lake Champlain.

When Kristin Kimball left New York City to interview a dynamic young farmer named Mark, her world changed.

From a “graceful, luminous writer with an eye for detail” ( Minneapolis Star Tribune ), this riveting memoir explores a year on a sustainable farm.

The dirty life by kristin kimball