A Practical How-To Guide on Country Living
By Kristy Athens
Process Media, $19.95, 341 pages
In 2003, Kristy Athens and her husband Mike moved from their home in Portland, Oregon out to a seven-acre parcel in the Columbia Gorge and lived a rural life for six years. Get Your Pitchfork On! is Athen’s detailed account of how to live, work and thrive in the country. For anyone who wants to know the nuts and bolts of transitioning from city living to a do-it-yourself rural life, this practical guide book is a must read.
The book is divided into five sections under land, buildings, animals, food and community. Within each section, Athens details the specifics of obtaining and maintaining the infrastructure necessary for a rural homestead. She goes over the array of options available, weighing the pros and cons. Throughout, Athens provides tips and anecdotal accounts of what worked and didn’t work in her experience.
This guide was exhaustive, at times it felt bogged down by unnecessary details and opinions, contributing to the fragmented feeling of the book as a whole. However, by the end of the book, even the most urban city dweller will have a more informed understanding of what they are getting into if they move to the country.
Reviewed By Kristin Leigh
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