The Bookworm Sez Terri Schlichenmeyer “The Farmer’s Wife: My Life in Days” by Helen Rebanks, c.2023, Harper Horizon, $29.99, 312 pages Hi ho the dairy-oh. In the old children’s song, the farmer is in the dell and lots of things happen. His child takes a dog and the dog takes a cat. Rats appear, and mice arrive. It sounds like dreadful chaos in merry lyrics with a bouncy tune. Fortunately for the poor guy, he makes one decision before he does anyything else: he takes a spouse and in “The Farmer’s Wife: My Life in Days” by Helen Rebanks, that’s a very good thing. She said she’d never marry a farmer. She was going to leave her parents’ home and move to the big city to be an artist. She would paint and sculpt and the world would be hers – but when Helen Rebanks was just a teen, she fell in love with a boy named James whose heart was back on a farm. And oh, James tried! He followed her from city to city, they took short jaunts and weeks away from their homes in England to various parts of Europe to sample what life had to offer an artist and her man, but he was never comfortable. Being around tall buildings and cafe society felt all wrong for someone who longed for open pastures and newborn lambs. They argued, but they loved one another and they married. James took a job nearby, then two of them when their first child was born, but he struggled. She struggled, too: Rebanks was overwhelmed by motherhood, alone and depressed, and felt as though she’d lost the person she knew she was. Things were better when the second baby came along, and by then, James’ dream of farming had caught fire. He loved the land, and it was contagious but she would have to give up her dreams to make it happen. They looked into taking the leap. “There are many ways to live,” Rebanks says, “many ways to be a woman. I know lots of women don’t want what I want. But this is how I want to live.” Almost always, when you grab a book, you know what kind of book it is. “The Farmer’s Wife” will surprise you, though, because it’s many things. First of all, it’s a story of author Helen Rebanks’ forebears, which is enmeshed with her own memoir. Those tales are of hard lives and hard times, and they’re made of sandpaper and steel. Then this is a dual love story, to a man and to the land he belongs on, and it was a bit of a battle; no spoilers here, but this part lends excitement to the tale. Then, it’s a cookbook: readers will find relevant recipes sprinkled throughout Rebanks’ narrative, with more at the end along with meal ideas and tips. This book is a quiet sunrise with a hot cup of coffee and early birdsong. It’s a soft sunset from the door of a barn, stanchions gently clinking behind you. Yep, that’s the feeling you get here, reading this book. Hi ho, “The Farmer’s Wife”is a book you’ll take. |
