Good Grief Life In A Tiny Vermont Village

An endless New England vacation becomes a way of life for one woman and her family Ellen Stimson and her husband had such a wonderful time in Vermont that they wondered what living there would really be like. “What if we stayed here . . . forever?” So began the series of adventures and misadventures of Ellen Stimson’s hilarious first book, Mud Season. Now, having settled the family in Vermont’s rich, muddy soil, they are faced with new challenges of raising kids in the paradise of this very small, very rural town. Good Grief tells the tales of the hopes and dreams of parents just trying to do their best—and not always succeeding. Imagine being the mom of the kid who peed on his teacher’s chair . . . On. Purpose. Now imagine the governor asking you about it! Good Grief is all about the inevitable moment right after somebody says, “What next?” Ellen Stimson’s irrepressible optimism and good humor prevail as she, her two husbands, their three kids, and various much-loved pets face down real life, and even death and grieving, with good humor intact. This is life in a state where everyone knows everything, and everything is everybody’s else's business.

An Endless Vacation Becomes a Way of Life! One vacation changed everything. Ellen Stimson and her husband had such a wonderful time in Vermont that they wondered what living there would really be like. “What if we stayed here . . . forever?” So began the series of adventures and misadventures of Ellen Stimson’s hilarious first book, Mud Season. Now, having settled the family in Vermont’s rich muddy soil, they are faced with new challenges of raising kids in the paradise of this very small, very rural town. Good Grief tells the tales of the hopes and dreams of parents just trying to do their best—and not always succeeding. Imagine being the mom of the kid who peed on his teacher’s chair . . . On. Purpose. Now imagine the governor asking you about it! Good Grief is all about the inevitable moment right after somebody says, “What next?” Ellen Stimson’s irrepressible optimism and good humor prevail as she, her two husbands, their three kids, and various much-loved pets face down real life, and even death and grieving, with good humor intact. This is life in a state where everyone knows everything, and everything is everybody’s else's business.

Honest, self-aware, and wonderfully tender, The Call of the Farm is for anyone who has daydreamed about a simpler life—or fallen too deeply in love. Rochelle Bilow, a classically trained cook and aspiring food writer, was nursing a broken heart and frustrated with her yet-to-take-off career when she set out to write a short profile of a small, sustainable CSA farm in central New York. At most, she expected to come away with a cute city-girl-in-the-country piece. But after just one day of moving hay bales, feeding pigs, and tapping maple sap, she was hooked: The air was fresh, her muscles felt useful, and the smells from the kitchen where the farmhands gathered at day’s end were intoxicating. Add in a sweet but enigmatic young farmer whose soulful gaze meets her own, and The Call of the Farm is set in motion. This enticing memoir charts the unexpected year that unfolds as Rochelle immerses herself in life at the farm. She cooks her way through four seasons of fresh-from-the-earth produce (with such tantalizing results as Blistered Tomato Gratin and Crisped Potato Casserole with Shaved Chives), grapples more than once with the finer points of rendering lard, and begins to feel she has finally found her niche—all while falling hard for that handsome, blue-eyed farmer.

A sensitive, wryly humorous study of a middle-aged widow who finds the courage to break with the past. June keeps a diary in the form of private conversations with her late husband Sam, a national newspaper editor. Her stepdaughter, Pauline, determines to keep an eye on June. Likewise, Eric Grant, an ex-colleague of Sam's. But June strikes out on her own and befriends Duggie, who, like June, is lonely. June, however, discovers that Pauline, Eric and Duggie have their own hidden agenda.2 women, 2 men

'My Good Grief', is not just a book about grief. It is a story about a woman's journey through sorrow and back into joy. It's a story that demonstrates the ability we have, to be all right, in spite of what life deals us. In 'My Good Grief', Cindyanne Kershaw tells about an unshakable belief in the goodness of life, and about a faith that transcends its sorrows, despite the deaths of her two husbands and a younger brother. 'My Good Grief', tells of her experiences with cancer, alcoholism and AIDS, and the way she lived through them. The stories and poetry convey how a journey through multiple losses can still be one of hope, and how life can still be full of joyful expectation. They also show how faith and love served as constants, and sustained her on a difficult path. 'My Good Grief', tells about the beauty of Nature as a healer, and the blessings of family, friends, children and grandchildren. Although it's a heart-wrenching story about loving and losing, it's also meant to be an inspirational story about discovering joy and delight in the midst of it all, and loving again and again.

A brilliantly funny and heartwarming debut about a young woman who stumbles, then fights to build a new life after the death of her husband. The perfect book for anyone who has ever been heartbroken, lost someone they loved, or eaten too many Oreos.