Little Farm in the Foothills: A Boomer Couple's Search for the Slow Life

When two Boomers flee the city for a slower, simpler, and more serene lifestyle, they discover that simplicity can get awfully complicated… and life becomes anything but serene.

In this award-winning, true-life tale for gardeners, nature-lovers, and dreamers of all ages, Little Farm in the Foothills follows a midlife couple's pursuit of the "new" Great American Dream—living closer to the land—as they start growing their own organic food, living more simply, and  transforming  an old clearcut into a little homestead. The Little Farm in the Foothills series now includes the sequel, Book 2, Little Farm Homegrown: A Memoir of Food-Growing, Midlife, and Self-Reliance on a Small Homestead and Book 3, Little Farm in the Garden: A Practical Mini-Guide for Raising Selected Fruits and Vegetables Homestead-Style!

Here's more about Book 1: When Susan and her husband John first came up with the idea of having a country place, they were settled into a comfortable home in the city, happily raising vegetables in the back yard. Being experienced gardeners, they figured that relocating would be no big deal—they'd expand the garden a little, have a bit more peace and quiet. So they bought 10 acres in the middle of the woods and prepared to pretty much transfer that comfortable town life to the new property.

But this modest plan becomes an adventure that is more life-changing than they could have ever imagined. And Susan and John discover that making your dreams come true can be full of disappointments...and setbacks.

Once the couple moved to their little homestead, there was so much to this new life they never faced before—breaking ground by hand and wildlife predation of their first crops. Along with a tight budget and many roadblocks along the way, they must also cope with unexpected adversity like isolation, infrastructure failures, and extreme weather--but ultimately, they discover a happy ending.

Little Farm in the Foothills is not a memoir about farming…it's a warmhearted story of making a dream come true. As Susan writes of their Foothills home, "it's not a farm, it's not even a 'farmette,' but it's the dream of a farm."

Praise for Little Farm in the Foothills:

"The Browne's foray into slower living...is an enjoyable read.  Their delightful, yet very real, experiences in making the big leap toward their dreams make for a humorous and charming book."  —Washington State Librarian Jan Walsh

"A delightful account."  —The Bellingham Herald

About the Author:

Susan Colleen Browne weaves her love of Ireland and her passion for country living into her Village of Ballydara series, novels and stories of love, friendship and family set in the Irish countryside. She's also the author of an award-winning memoir, Little Farm in the Foothills, as well as the Morgan Carey fantasy-adventure series for tweens. A communitiy college creative writing instructor, Susan also teaches a homestead-style gardening class and runs a mini-farm in the foothills of the Pacific Northwest, USA.

When not writing, Susan is wrangling chickens, tending vegetable beds, and dreaming up new Irish stories!