Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!

Our Wild Farming Life details one couple's journey to get back to nature, and find deeper communion with the earth. In the process, they learn a lot about themselves, and about things that do and don't work to support yourself in such an endeavor. I'm sure that writing this book was emotionally uplifting, and I hope it succeeds as an additional stream of income for them as well. I highly recommend.

I really enjoyed this for the educational journey it was.
There is so much to take in and learn from these girls and their adventures on their Scottish croft.
I loved all the history they managed to cram in and the traditions they learn about and followed.
I loved the community spirit they found and became a part of, it reminded me of the Irish community I live in.
These girls have worked so hard and achieved so much, they are an inspiration.


I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you are a fan of reading about someone's personal growth, this book is for you. Lynn Cassells does a wonderful job narrating this book where she recounts the journey she and her wife, Sandra Baer, made while developing a sustainable, environmentally friendly farm in Scotland.
Cassells recounts their journey from their first meeting, to purchasing the land, to acquiring animals and the highlights and pitfalls that occurred. Some of my favorite stories include their attempt to disinfect their well using chemicals with low toxicity to the environment, and the end result is water that is not potable. I also enjoyed learning about their livestock, particularly about the animals whose personality shone through in the story telling. The frankness that drives the narrative does not leave the reader with an idyllic view of what farming would be like, but rather the ebbs and flows of things going well and the self-doubt that occurs as one tries to gain knowledge in a new profession.
Overall, this was enjoyable read with laugh out loud moments, periods of tension and strain, and descriptive prose.

i tried to be enthused but failed. That´s not to say it wasn´t well read or contained good descriptions and language of the places lived and worked and built their lives. I couldn´t drum up the enthusiasm to stay with it to the end unfortunately and looked on each night spent listening to the recording as a bit of a chore.
In my humble opinion it´s an ok audio book, nothing more. Is it so inspiring and engrossing that you'd listen to it more than once? Probably not. Same-sex memoirs have been done to death in recent years, and this feels like yet another one that will appeal to an insignificant number of potential purchasers outside the authors' circle of family and friends. Bring on the next trend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Chelsea Green Audio for the audiobook of this title in exchange for an honest review.

As a longtime fan of James Herriot and similar books, this seemed to be right up my alley, and it was—in more ways than I expected!

Although not mentioned in the description, and somewhat minimized in the book itself, Lynn and Sandra are in fact a couple, and it’s lovely to see that they are accepted in their Scottish community.

I always enjoy it when an author reads their own work, and this was no exception. I quite enjoyed Lynn’s narration, and found her accent to be rather soothing.

There were really two stories here—the story of their lives leading up to the purchase of the croft, and the story of their rebuilding the croft into a working, self-sufficient entity, including how they dealt with the pandemic. They almost make it sound like anyone could do what they did, with a lot of hard work. Almost.

The story of the croft itself had several parts—the flora, the fauna, the finances. While I appreciated learning about how they chose trees to restore the land, that part did not interest me as much as the animals. I loved hearing the stories of their experiences with chickens, pigs, sheep and cows… though perhaps not so much about the abattoir. I confess that reading about their finances did give me new appreciation for the cost of food that I buy at the farmer’s market.

Given the current state of the planet, it’s really great to hear about people taking care of the land and really being true to their values!

An advanced copy of this audiobook was provided for review purposes with courtesy of NetGalley, Chelsea Green Publishing, and authors Lynn Cassells and Sandra Baer. Thank you!

I was interested in this book because I am interested in farming and generally like non-fiction books. I have never seen BBC series personally. The book is narrated by one of the authors, Lynn Cassells.

Lynn and Sandra are dreaming of forestry and farming, and purchase a small land in Scotland. Without any experience or funds, they must start making 150 acres of highlands into their home and farm. While the premises sounded very interesting, the storytelling felt ordinary and nothing particular special, even though I realize that their situation must have been very nothing but boring. I also feel that this type of stories would do better with a sense of humor, because we already know farming is difficult. So, going at length describing how difficult their experience felt mundane.

In the end, I felt the book was just okay personally. I would recommend this audiobook to fans of their TV shows.

I came across this book on my NetGalley app. I guess I will say that the cover made me smile , and then the title had me curious … So I decided to read the description, which intrigued me, as I myself have spent a few moments daydreaming about my own desire to have a “hobby farm“ (which, by the way, the ladies do not have, they have a real farm)
I have not heard of these two ladies prior to finding this, their story, having not seen them on BBC nor heard of them in any other media format. And still did not even realize that they have been on a TV show until the very end of the actual book.
I personally had a difficult time getting into the beginning of the book/story, because I was more interested in the actual day today of their farming life. Once she got started on talking about the actual beginnings of their farm life, I was hooked. I won’t lie, there were a few moments of laughing out loud, groaning, and maybe even a few tears. But in the end, I felt like I knew them, and want to visit them in real life.
Because of this book, I have been inspired into action in a few ways. Number one, I actually looked up these ladies and their adventure. Number two, I have done a bit more research into my own aspirations of small-scale farming. And number three I have scaled down some things that I thought I wanted to do, but also ramped up others.
Whether you have heard of them, because of their Appearance on the BBC television program “This Farming life”… Or if you were just interested in starting a farm, or Scotland, this is a great little story.

I've never seen the program these farmers are in but this story is entertaining and inspiring.
The narration wasn't always to my liking, but that can be just me as well. Audiobooks are hard for me at times to listen to because I am very particular about voices.

I will start by admitting that I’ve never seen any episodes of This Farming Life but plan to search it out and learn more.

Coming into this audio book with fresh eyes (ears!?) and no preconceived notions about the authors or their lives, I did find the book interesting, yet a little dry. I can’t place my finger on it exactly but it was a little too factual and into the weeds to keep me wanting to listen.

I think this book is perfect for fans of the show that are looking for more details behind the show and how it came to be.

I am grateful to NetGalley and Chelsea Green Publishing for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Many, many years ago when newly married I had dreams of beginning a smallholding- a dairy cow, some chickens, and a large garden that would feed us. We ended up buying a home in the village, sans cow. But with many of the big choices we make, I often wonder, "what if...". Listening to this book about two farming novices who drop everything to give it a go was a delight. They glossed over the truly hard parts of farming and the failures, and focused on the beauty of working with the land. In so, I was able to answer my own "what if..." with yes, it would have been lovely.

Readers will enjoy this bucolic memoir, filled with farming adventures that are reminiscent of James Herriot's tales in that it somehow all works out. Readers looking for the nitty gritty of actual farming life should look elsewhere (but should still listen to this one).

I received a free audio-Arc from Netgalley and the publishers, and I loved this book. It's the story of a couple who buy a croft in Scotland and attempt to make a living while farming with the land. It is read by Lynn, so it feels authentic on two levels - the story and the telling of the story. It does not romanticise the life they chose, outlining the continuing challenges a struggles, but it also shows a love for the land and the choices they have made and are making.
Is this the most exciting book ever? No, but it is interesting and informative and thoughtful.

I have not seen the BBC TV program but I greatly enjoyed this book. Cassells approach to working with nature in farming is in line with my own and my feelings about the emotive subject of rewilding, so obviously this book was going to resonate. But I was completely hooked on Cassells' tale. At no point does she dress up the grimmer realities of living on and with the land - this is no beau idyll cottage core set in the Highlands, it's very much a lot of hard work and at times is a struggle. Cassells was very honest about how it changed some of her attitudes and how they had things to overcome or relearn. I appreciate the viewpoint that there are many ways to farm more sustainably and live less selfishly off the back of nature. As Cassells says, humans tend to forget that we are part of nature, not separate from it. Overall, this was a great book - heart-warming, honest and thought provoking. Highly recommend. Cassells narrated it well too.

I really loved listening to this book. I'm currently obsessed with nature writing and just books about living alongside nature. These two women are putting in the work to make the world a little bit better. I feel like the world could learn a lot about living with nature from them. While I'm not a farmer or anything close to one, I feel like we really need to move towards this type of farming. We need to stop polluting the earth and ourselves, we need to take care of our environment.

Lynn also narrated this really well, and I wish both of them well in their farming endeavors.

Lynn did a fantastic job narrating Our Wild Farming Life. I found the book really interesting and gave a really detailed account of their lives. A really enjoyed this audiobook.

Our Wild Farming Life
by Lynn Cassells and Sandra Baer
Pub Date: March 10, 2022
Chelsea Green Audio
I have come to adore audio books! I can "read" when I am busy and still have an enjoyable time with a book.
Thanks to the authors, Chelsea Green Audio, and NetGalley for this ARC audio.
The Narrator: Lynn Cassells is absolutely a hit with me. I love her voice!
Anyone who enjoys biographies, nonfiction, and outdoors and nature will enjoy this book as I have.
I highly recommend it and will be buying a copy for our library.
4 stars

Having never seen the TV show, I wasn't familiar with the authors or their farm prior to listening to this audiobook so I went in completely fresh. I enjoyed coming along on this journey as these women worked out how to create a life that suits them. While I wasn't excited to hear about the animals going to slaughter, I can respect how this farm is run, working to improve the land while creating a good life for themselves. It's too bad all farms aren't run more like this one. Yes, it would increase prices over the monocrop and factory farming we currently have. Maybe this would inspire more people to grow what they can and more communities to set aside space for community gardens. It's a delicate balance with keeping food affordable, but it would be great if more government funding went toward more sustainable farming practices.

Thanks to Chelsea Green Audio and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Very informative book on crofting and farming with nature. You do not need to have knowledge in these areas before reading the book. They do a great job explaining the process they decided to take with farming and the reasons behind it. This book is not meant to persuade you in any direction which is something I really liked. Just sharing what they have learned over the years and how they got to where they are today.

I very much enjoyed listening to the audiobook of 'Our Wild Farming Life'. Lynn Cassells and Sandra Baer make a striking couple - gay, one Irish and the other raised in Switzerland, and pretty much no farming experience between them. And yet they decide to take the leap and buy a large croft in Scotland.

There's a fair bit of build-up to getting the croft going, but the authors write about their journey engagingly, and Cassells does a great job as the narrator. You absolutely grasp the enormity of the challenge they set themselves, and the hard graft they put in to make it happen. And happen it does.

One of the elements I most loved and found most moving about the book was when the authors got to know the personalities of their new animals - their chickens, their pigs, and their cattle - and how they agonised over sending animals to slaughter. They present the very best kind of ethical meat-eating.

Easy listening, an affable narrator, and an uplifting story of regenerative farming - what more could you want from a book like this?

(With thanks to Chelsea Green Audio and NetGalley for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review)

Really enjoyed this after the TV show. It was nice to hear their story and all about farming life. Also love that it was narrated by lynn herself as it always adds an extra spark when the author reads it themselves.

I really enjoyed this memoir! Lynn Cassells and Sandra Baer have written a very thoughtful and immersive book about their experiences learning to be 'crofters' or farmers in harmony with nature. Purchasing, moving to, and learning to farm their land, was an incredibly intense experience & they successfully convey these experiences throughout the book. I think many people occasionally dream about quitting their job and just 'living off the land', but what is it like to actually do it? Cassells & Baer share their adventures so vividly with the reader, that I found myself at times wanting to get chickens, cows, pigs, and plant trees! At other times, their story made me glad that I’ve held onto my more routine employment.

I listened to the audio book, which was read by Lynn Cassells. The narration was well done and I think this book could be enjoyed either in print or as an audiobook. Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook in return for my honest opinion.