Dirty Chick

Adventures of an Unlikely Farmer

By: Antonia Murphy

Narrated by: Antonia Murphy

"One month into our stay, we'd managed to dispatch most of our charges. We executed the chickens. One of the cats disappeared, clearly disgusted with our urban ways. And Lucky [the cow] was escaping almost daily. It seemed we didn't have much of a talent for farming. And we still had eleven months to go." Antonia Murphy, you might say, is an unlikely farmer. Born and bred in San Francisco, she spent much of her life as a liberal urban cliché, and her interactions with the animal kingdom rarely extended past dinner. But then she became a mother. And when her eldest son was born with a rare, mysterious genetic condition, she and her husband, Peter, decided it was time to slow down and find a supportive community. So the Murphys moved to Purua, New Zealand - a rural area where most residents maintained private farms, complete with chickens, goats, and (this being New Zealand) sheep. The result was a comic disaster, and when one day their son had a medical crisis, it was also a little bit terrifying.

Dirty Chick chronicles Antonia's first year of life as an artisan farmer. Having bought into the myth that farming is a peaceful, fulfilling endeavor that allows one to commune with nature and live the way humans were meant to live, Antonia soon realized that the reality is far dirtier and way more disgusting than she ever imagined. Among the things she learned the hard way: Cows are prone to a number of serious bowel ailments, goat mating involves an astounding amount of urine, and roosters are complete and unredeemable assholes. But for all its traumas, Antonia quickly embraced farm life, getting drunk on homemade wine (it doesn't cause hangovers!), making cheese (except for the cat hair, it's a tremendously satisfying hobby), and raising a baby lamb (which was addictively cute until it grew into a sheep).

©2015 Antonia Murphy (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Love it!

I totally wrote a review for this wonderful book in the 'audible app review'-- whoopsy! Love this book, heartwarming, inspiring, and thoughtful. Antonia you are beautiful:)

great book!

great book! loved it. I even laughed out loud a few times. some cursing but that doesn't bother me. definitely recommend this.

Perfect Audible Listen!!

One of the most enjoyable books I've heard in years(and I've been an Audible listener for a decade). Funny, trashy, captivating, and thoroughly engaging. American couple go to New Zealand Zealand on their sailboat and then start farming with animals and gardens, totally unaware of what they will encounter. The story is glorious with lots of serious parts (son with special needs) but tons of barnyard humor that will leave you laughing outloud. Loved it!

A New Zealand experience similar to that of James Harriat in the Yorkshire Dales

Dead pan comic Antonia gets down and dirty with her tales of her spontaneous, hectic and hilarious life on land.

A real woman after my own heart

At first it sounded as if the author was full of herself. And then as the story went on I got used to her tone and she was quite like any of my friends, laughing and living a crazy life and loving her crazy kids. Great REAL look at life while enduring craziness AND embracing dreams.