A well written and thoughtful memoir that slides you into Keiser's sad and abusive backstory after you've been lulled by the amusement of her adventures in farming. At age 38, she knew she needed something different from running her PR firm and so, on an impulse, bought a farm outside Oxford, Missisippi. Goats, lots of goats. She knew nothing about goats or chickens or anything else that she'd taken on but she learns. And then she starts to learn about herself and forces herself to confront old demons, including some from childhood and a toxic and abusive relationship. She balances the humor and the pathos well. I admit I was expecting more farm and less personal but it is the latter than makes this such a good read. Kudos for her bravery in putting it out there. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

What a fabulous memoir! I didn’t know how I was going to take the book when I read what it was about! I took to it like a duck to a pond. I loved Jake’s story. Sad, funny, entertaining all mixed into a great book. I laughed out loud a bit. I looked up animals on Google. I learned a bit about running a farm. I read quite a few parts aloud to my husband and sons. Really thrilled to Netgalley for the early read.

I enjoy reading about people,who completely transform their lives from one extreme to the other.
Jake chucked a high lower life in Miami to live on a farm in Mississippi. She was a complete novice about most things rural and with farm animal,life, but she learned by jumping into,the deep end.
I laughed heartily at her having a visit from two neighbors while she was half dressed. Her neighbors were friendly and helpful, the kind of people the world needs. I enjoyed all,of her stories about her beloved animals, from naughty Luca to the precious ugly duckling.
Daffodil Hill brought peace for the author, tranquility of the country but also peace of mind.

Marvelous memoir of Jake Keiser leaving her cofortable and safe job in Tampa floridad and moving to Mississippi. She starts her own farm and you feel every joy and problem she has with her menagerie.
An absolute captivating read to be enjoyed and savored

I loved this book. The author was so open and authentic with her struggles and triumphs. I read the entire book in a day because I could not put it down. So well done.

I loved this book on farming. I have gotten in the habit of watching live videos of farm sanctuaries!
I had a feeling that I would love this book and I wasn't disappointed at all
The only thing that I wasn't 100% happy with was that it was a little bit longer than it needs to be.
The writer did such a good job holding your interest.

Thank you so much, NetGalley, and the Publisher for offering this great book for me to read and review!

This new debut memoir coming out next month reads a lot like Eat, Pray, Love, with a professional woman reeling from a failed marriage uprooting her life and starting over in a completely new environment with completely new goals. In fact, at one point, Keiser even refers to EPL, so she's aware of her thematic overlap. In this version, however, we have a publicist based in Tampa, FL, brunching with friends on the weekends, splurging on designer clothes, shoes, and handbags to bury her feelings, and secretly keeping a spreadsheet of all the adorable animals she one day dreams of owning on a farm all her own. When a piece of land actually comes available near her family in Oxford, Mississippi, she decides to take the plunge into farm life, without really knowing the first thing about it.

I found this memoir and the many animal anecdotes charming, and Keiser definitely sells the reader on the dream farm life (despite her many hurdles and struggles along the way). However, I'm not quite sure she fully sold me on the rest of the story -- the part that I think should have been more emotionally compelling. Keiser has experienced more than her fair share of devastating moments in her life (including multiple miscarriages, spousal abuse, molestation), and yet I didn't feel them the way I think she meant them to be felt. In general, the book conveyed a lighthearted tone, following the antics of temperamental turkeys and a boisterous guard dog pup, and that tone preempted her more serious and harrowing experiences. I'm not sure if we should chock that up to an inexperienced writer or if this book needed a firmer editor. Whatever the cause, it just didn't quite sync up for me the way I hoped it would.

3.5 Stars

Thanks to The Dial Press and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

There is nothing like a good memoir and I especially enjoyed Daffodil Hill by Jake Keiser. I often wonder what it would be like to completely start over, a new life that vastly different from what I live now, something that takes me out of my comfort zone like living in the country in an old farmhouse on a large piece of land with animals everywhere.

And Jake did just that! What a gutsy move.

SYNOPSIS

Jake Keiser was living the life in Tampa, Florida, running a high-powered PR firm and juggling drink dates, shopping sprees, and charity galas. But at age thirty-eight, following a failed marriage, a series of miscarriages, and a still-blistering breakup, she began to suffer from extreme anxiety. Hit with the realization that no amount of Botox could fill the hole in her heart, she decided to make the impulse purchase of a lifetime and bought a farm in the middle of nowhere, Mississippi.

Suddenly responsible for more than seventy-five animals and five acres of land, and with only one bar of cell service, Jake begins her search for inner peace. She learns to fix a well, haul wood, shoot a gun, and care for baby chicks, goats, turkeys, geese, dogs, and a cat, playing spa music for them when they’re sick and naming them after her favorite fashion designers. The only problem is that she still can’t figure out how to truly care for herself. Unable to escape the accumulated pain of her past, Jake hits rock bottom. With nowhere left to run, she’s finally forced to confront a bracing reality: The farm won’t save her. Only she can save herself.

Don’t miss this book, it was fantastic! Coming out on June 7.

I loved the premise of this memoir, but the writing was unfortunately too simplistic and clunky for me to fully enjoy it.

This was a fun and educational book about a woman's move from city life in Tampa Florida where she had a hectic life to a small 5 acre farm in Mississippi.
Jake was going through a lot in her personal and work life and just felt she needed to get away from it all. Jake had always had a dream of having a little farm, and when one appeared, she jumped on it.
I loved to see how she adapted to a new lifestyle and her learning process with the animals she acquired. One really gets a feel for how it would be to take up that lifestyle when you know nothing about it and the errors, both sad and funny were entertaining. She started with chickens, then geese, ducks and turkeys to goats and a large dog to protect her animals.
This was a book that I really enjoyed reading. A book of self discovery, and getting out of your comfort zone, while being surrounded by nice helpful neighbors.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Random House.

Daffodil Hill was an interesting book! I did really enjoy reading about animal farm life!! Enjoyed the pictures in the book!!

A delightful, enjoyable read that I devoured over two evenings. Daffodil Hill, a memoir, was a wonderful antidote to the thrillers usually on my reading list. Jake leaves her rather superficial life in Tampa Bay and moves to a small farm in the middle of nowhere in Mississippi. Having almost no knowledge of farm life, and dragging along some serious baggage from her earlier life, Jake nonetheless manages to build up her menagerie and find peace.
I laughed aloud in places, was moved to tears or indignation in others, and genuinely cared for many of the characters – including many of the four-legged ones. If you’re an animal lover you’ll adore the foibles of Jake’s chickens, turkeys, goats and puppy.
Charming and inspiring.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this ARC. Jake Keiser wants nothing more to leave her fast paced PR life and buy a farm when her mom calls with the perfect property. She leaves that day, drives to Mississippi and purchases the house and land. Over the next several years she documents the good, bad and ugly of learning how to farm but also how to allow herself to heal from past abuse, lost love and several miscarriages. This book is chocked full of lessons and how the animal world relates so closely to humans. Great read! #DaffodilHill #JakeKeiser #June2022

When you finish #Daffodil Hill you just may want to read it again. I wish it had some of the animals on the cover. Because author #Jake Keiser made me laugh so much!! 💜🐾🐾
Description:
Jake Keiser was living in Florida and moves to Mississippi. From being a PR with a high-powered firm and juggling drink dates, and charity galas. Now, she buys a farm.....

I enjoyed this look into farm life and how hard it it. I thought this was a great look at reinventing yourself. She went through all the worst things she could and still came out the other side. Helps us who might be struggling know we can can get through too.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

I laughed out loud, I cried quietly. This wonderful memoir shares with us the author's journey through hopes attained and those taken away. Through all her trials and joys, her past does not stop haunting her till she finds that we need love of oneself to be truly happy. It is the needed starting point that gets us through. I will be purchasing this book for my own library and stocking the shelves of the book shop where I work with it. I thank NetGalley for the opportunity of previewing this book and Random House Publishers.

As a reluctant farmgirl, Keiser's memoir has made me eager to embrace my plants and animals with new vigor. I keep telling my husband I "need" a baby goat, but so far, he's managed to completely ignore me! Nothing about farm life is easy. There is always something to be mended or built or fed or watered or otherwise tended to. However, I loved the change in perspective and time Jake shared with us. I can't wait to purchase this as a "real" book and share with my farming friends!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of DAFFODIL HILL by Jake Keiser. As some who's dealt with miscarriage and infertility for the past several years, it was how Keiser dealt with her own similar traumas that really connected me to this book. I related to her pain of wanting children and a family so badly, and I actually really appreciated that this book ended not with her getting these desires, but with her finding fulfillment and healing in her life all on her own. She talked about how all her worst fears in life came true, and she was still here and she was happy. That was something I needed to read, and I'm so grateful to Keiser for sharing that. I also loved all her cute stories about her animals. Even though I have no desire whatsoever to ever own a farm, I still related so much to the emotional core of this book and the story of hope and healing it shared.

This book started out with an interesting idea and I was looking forward to seeing how the main character Jack handled her life on a small rural farm after her high profile PR Tampa life. Unfortunately, the author threw a lot of scenarios into the book that detracted from what I thought should have been the main theme - the transition to the farm. And these backgrounds or tangents were just dropped in for a page or two and then not mentioned again.

This little book is as sweet as it’s name. Nothing like what I expected but so heartwarming I passed it along to my daughter. It’s a true story that makes it not just seem authentic but actually is. For anyone thinking or wishing they might change their life this is a must read.