Dear Reader,

It is finally a book…kind of. I received my “presentation” copies this past week. And Kayaking with Lambs is now available for pre-order from the publisher. The title officially comes out on October 1. I have been advised that it takes anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks to populate in the various distribution networks (Amazon, Ingram, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, etc.). But please feel free to pre-order a copy or five by following the link at Front Porch Republic.

A small publishing imprint, like FPR, is limited on the marketing that they can do. So, when you do get your copy, and read it, please take the time to rate and review it on Amazon, Goodreads, etc. etc. It helps.

I do so appreciate your encouragement over the years at this little blog. And I plan to resume normal posting next week. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go get my baler ready to bale hay.

Cheers,

Brian

PS Here is some advance praise for Kayaking. 

This is a beautifully sensual account of the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and emotions entailed in daily life on a Tennessee farm, very lovingly rendered with gratitude for being in a place worth caring about.

—James Howard Kunstler, author of the World Made By Hand novels.

I’ve long been an admirer of Brian Miller’s writing, and I hope this delightful book will find him many new readers. With perfect authorial control, it combines lyricism, self-deprecating humor, a grounding in place, political wisdom that’s all the more powerful for its understatement, and deep practical knowledge from a life on the land. A book to be read and enjoyed, but also—more unusually—to be acted upon.

 —Chris Smaje, author of Saying No to a Farm-Free Future

What a beautiful and inspiring book!  Brian Miller has given us a wonderful meditation on the glories and difficulties of life on his well-ordered East Tennessee farm.  Chronicled according to the liturgy of the hours, Miller reminds us of the importance of learning “to walk and not run though the seasons.” It is rich in both literary allusion and sober practical advice.  Kayaking with Lambs is a celebration of the archaic arts, the joy of duty, and the rich rewards of the habit of attention.

_ Scott H. Moore, author of How to Burn a Goat: farming with the philosophers

From the taste of a fat blackberry on a warm afternoon to ‘the sound of the moon rising’ to the sweet smell of lamb poop, Brian Miller conveys the small joys, alongside the modern perplexities, of shepherding a small farm. His attention to the cycles of life, of the seasons, and of each day transforms his ‘farm notes’ into a form of poetry.  –

Allan Carlson, author of The New Agrarian Mind

Good books about farm life and rural community are rare to say the least. Great books are rarer still. In Kayaking with Lambs, Brian Miller has accomplished the latter. Arranged as daily mediations, Miller takes readers on a delightful journey of his working farm, baring his heart and soul in the process. Along the way, we meet a menagerie of farm animals, as well as his best and sometimes not-so-good neighbors. A fantastic read.

Donald E. Davis, author of Where There Are Mountains: An Environmental History of the Southern Appalachians.