Reviewed
by: BigAl
Genre:
Memoir
Approximate
word count: 14-15,000
words
Availability
Click
on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes &
Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
“S.A.
Molteni is a retired systems engineer. She is also currently a hobby
farmer, avid traveler and an author of several award-winning short
stories. She lives on a small homestead with her husband and a
menagerie of farm animals.”
For
more, visit her blog or like her page on Facebook.
Description:
“Have
you ever wanted to ditch the nine-to-five job and move as far away as
possible from the rat race?
Have
you ever just wanted peace and quiet in a rural setting away from the
sprawl of suburbia?
Have
you found yourself daydreaming about pasture lands and farm animals
on a daily basis?
That's
exactly what the author found herself contemplating - more often than
not - while working at a high tech job in Seattle.
With
her husband 3,000 miles away in Florida and the passing of her
father, she knew it was time to make some serious changes in her
life. She was ready for an adventure, but little did she know what
lay in store for her at the 'fixer upper' farmhouse she and her
husband would soon own.
S.A.
Molteni has spent over thirty years in the Information Technology
field working for various Fortune 500 companies. During those years,
she and her husband had always dreamed of living on a farm once they
became retired from the rat race.
This
collection of essays follows the author in her sometimes humorous
transition from I.T. Geek
to Farm Girl Freak and
depicts the lessons that are learned along the way once farm animals
become a large part of her life.”
Appraisal:
When I
read a memoir I hope to learn or gain something to help in my own
journey through life. That might be coming to a better understanding
of a group of people much different than me. It could be getting a
different perspective on experiences I share with the author (or even
validation if we see comparable experiences in the same way).
Sometimes it's inspiration. It could even turn into a bit of a how-to
book, if the experiences chronicled are something you'd like to do.
As an
I.T. Geek who wouldn't mind escaping the corporate rat race, I'd have
loved it if I'd have found the last of these. (Even though a farm
would be the absolute last place I'd seek refuge.) That wish was
probably too much to hope for. (And to be fair, what is required to
make the escape is fairly obvious, albeit, not easy to accomplish.)
Instead what I gained from reading this short memoir was more generic
and more applicable to the average potential reader as well.
The
book is a collection of essays the author wrote about her experiences
making the transition from I.T.
Geek to Farm Girl Freak
with the majority of the stories about adapting to her new life on
the farm. At the end of most of these essays or stories the author
tells the reader what the “life lesson learned” was for her. For
example, one is “You never know what you are capable of until you
try.” Really the lessons to be gleaned are two-fold. The generic
lesson the author lists is the first, but I found that by combining
her stories with my experiences, I could also find additional lessons
of my own. Maybe you'll find the same.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No
significant issues.
Rating:
**** Four Stars
2 comments:
This looks like a good read! (and I adore that cover)
Big Al and Pals - Thank you so much for reading and reviewing "I.T. Geek to Farm Girl Freak". I appreciate the unbiased critique and am glad that you enjoyed reading it.
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