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

An award-winning, uplifting homestead memoir about following your dreams of a simpler life--a feel-good tale for gardeners, nature lovers, and dreamers of all ages...

When two Boomers flee the city for a slower, more serene lifestyle, they discover that simplicity can get awfully complicated… and life becomes anything but serene. Little Farm in the Foothills follows a midlife couple’s pursuit of living closer to the land: growing their own organic food and transforming an old clear cut into a little homestead.

Susan and her husband John had a comfortable and convenient urban home, happily raising some vegetables and berries in the back yard. Being experienced gardeners, they figured that relocating would be no big deal—so they bought 10 acres in the middle of the woods and prepared to pretty much transfer that easy town life to the new property.

But this modest plan becomes an adventure that is more life-changing than they could have ever imagined.There was so much to this new life they never faced before...the back-breaking labor of breaking ground by hand and wildlife predation of their first crops. Despite a tight budget and many roadblocks along the way, they must also cope with unexpected adversity like isolation, infrastructure failures, and extreme weather.

Yet, 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.”

“A delightful account.” The Bellingham Herald

Little Farm in the Foothills… A Washington State Library “Summer Reads” book selection: “The Browne’s foray into slower living in Whatcom County 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

Susan Colleen Browne is a graduate of Huxley College of the Environment, Western Washington University. A community college creative writing instructor and novelist, Susan is the creator of the Village of Ballydara series, set in Ireland. Susan lives with her husband John at Berryridge Farm in the foothills of the Pacific Northwest. When Susan isn't digging compost, weeding veggie beds, or wrangling hens, she's working on her next Village of Ballydara story! You can contact Susan at www.susancolleenbrowne.com. You'll also find recipes and tales from Berryridge Farm at www.littlefarminthefoothills.blogspot.com