Sheepish

Two Women, Fifty Sheep, and Enough Wool to Save the Planet

By: Catherine Friend

Narrated by: Erin Bennett

Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

What do you do when you love your farm...but it doesn’t love you? After 15 years of farming, Catherine Friend is tired. After all, while shepherding is one of the oldest professions, it’s not getting any easier. The number of sheep in America has fallen by 90 percent in the last 90 years. But just as Catherine thinks it’s time to hang up her shepherd’s crook, she discovers that sheep might be too valuable to give up. What ensues is a funny, thoughtful romp through the history of our woolly friends, why small farms are important, and how each one of us - and the planet - would benefit from being very sheepish, indeed.

©2011 Catherine Friend (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

The flow was great

Mrs. Friend’s writing style has an excellent flow. The stories build lovingly upon it other.

I got hit by a farm, too

I fell in love with the idea of a farm, but not a real one. We boarded our alpacas for 8 years and gave up.

These women didn't give up. Through thick and thin, they made it work and learned so much along the way. But I think the culture is against. them. I am a spinner, a knitter, and a weaver. I love wool, but PETA thinks shearing is cruel and has a billboard in Manhattan to prove it.

Alas , the small farm is an anachronism. Farmers are on the wrong side of history. Not me; I was inspired and someday I will have a small flock of my own.

The electric fence is a shocker

What a lively story that has great and memorable laugh out loud moments. I will never loot at a dog and an electric fence the same way again. I listened while I sat spinning wool, and thinking about getting some sheep.
Loved it!

Absolutely fun and intriguing.

Narrator has a nice voice. Storyline was catchy and kept you looking for the next. It was a fun and informative read.

Fantastic!

Loved the story. Kept my attention and really makes me think I can live that lifestyle.

Painfully unfunny

This book has the kinds of jokes your mom would tell. Very groan inducing. Baby boomers joking about being baby boomers really are the worst.

Ewe will really enjoy this!

Sheepish is part autobiography, part guide-to-farming, part research, part wonderful narrative and all worth reading, er, listening to. The author has embedded lots of very thoughtful quotes from non-sheepy people and some pretty quirky humor that makes this book something you'll laugh-out-loud at one moment, and have to pause to consider in another moment. The narrator seemed to have a bit of a snarky attitude, in a few bits, that I didn't really attribute to the author, but that was only a minor distraction.

Delightful, informative

I loved this book... the author is honest and fun. I am a long time knitter and happily learned so much as I followed these gals lives.

Wool conquers all

A lot of interesting stories. Sometimes feels like a series of essays than a memoir or story. The strongest parts are stories about farm life and history of sheep and wool. Weaker moments include Friend's solioquies on her Boomer inability to accept aging, and her frequent digs at "fiber freaks" and fiber arts in general as boring, pointless, silly and weird. I think that many of these digs are meant to be playful and all in fun but the narration makes her seem smug and superior and I found it off putting. It was hard for me to relate to her initial attitude towards things which seemed to be "I don't understand how to do that, it must be stupid" while at the same time she was disdainful of others who didn't immediately understand details of sheep husbandry and farm life. The dry narration style no doubt contributed to this impression.

A must read fir snall farmers

Thiss sequel has given me the heart to keep moving forward with our farm. The anecdotes, facts and opnions are a great blens of information. Thank you.