Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life

Brian Brett’s farm on Salt Spring Island is affectionately known as Trauma Farm. There, he raises chickens, pigs, cows, sheep, and goats, tends an extensive orchard and vegetable garden, concocts fabulous meals from the bounties of the farm, and has various misadventures. This funny and thought-provoking memoir traces one day on Trauma Farm. In it, Brett explores the natural history of the small mixed farm, meditates on the perfection of the egg, offers critiques of factory farms and the slaughtering industry, muses on the uses and misuses of gates, and ponders the constant presence of death as he goes about the activities of farming — birthing lambs, contending with rats, helping an aged horse to his death. Underlain with deep knowledge of biology and botany, this erudite, witty, and passionate book is an unforgettable portrait of the issues all farms face in this age of industrialization and homogenization.

Both a celebration and excoriation of farm life, the latest from author Brett (Uproar's Your Only Music) examines his family homestead on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, and the state of contemporary farming. With intimate knowledge, Brett speaks to the challenges faced by many independent farmers as well as the fleeting joys: "Rural living is an eccentric pursuit, in the same way that beauty is an eccentric pursuit." Raising fruits and vegetables, a small group of cows, chickens and pigs, Brett airs some strong criticism of modern agriculture-such as cattle slaughterhouses "that resemble medieval torture chambers"-tempered by lighthearted passages on topics like farm-fresh eggs: "I can tell what a chicken has been eating and how it's been raised when I break an egg on the frying pan." His account is also spiked with a grim sense of humor: "How do you make a small fortune at farming? Start with a large fortune." Brett's wit and giddy ambivalence makes this account a stretch more provocative than similar rural memoirs, and an altogether compelling read,
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