The Reluctant Farmer

Cathryn Wellner never imagined she'd trade city streets for muddy boots, squawking chicks, and two-humped camels-but that's exactly what happened. A move from Seattle to Vancouver Island and, later, to the Cariboo in British Columbia drew her into a decade of rural life she hadn't planned but would never forget.

In these pages, she shares the moments that defined those years: the laughter, the losses, the wild learning curves, and the small triumphs that stitched themselves into a reluctant farmer's heart. Her stories sparkle with humour, ache with tenderness, and reveal the surprising richness of an unexpected path.

If you've never midwifed a ewe, blow-dried a wet chick, rubbed a pig's belly, or fled from an amorous camel-and still dream of owning a farm-this book is your reality check and warm invitation. If it cools your passion, you can always admire leaping lambs and star-filled skies from someone else's rural property.

Or you may find your dream even more seductive after reading one woman's adventure as a complete newbie to country life. Most of us live long enough to try on many hats. For Wellner, the results were funny, painful, sweet, frustrating, and deeply enriching.

Read at your own risk. You may be inspired to try something entirely new-and a little bit wild.