The Dirty Life

On Farming, Food, and Love

By: Kristin Kimball

Narrated by: Kristin Kimball

Length: 8 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

From a “graceful, luminous writer with an eye for detail” (Minneapolis Star Tribune), this riveting memoir explores a year on a sustainable farm.

When Kristin Kimball left New York City to interview a dynamic young farmer named Mark, her world changed. On an impulse, she shed her city self and started a new farm with him on 500 acres near Lake Champlain. The Dirty Life is the captivating chronicle of the couple’s first year on Essex Farm, from the cold North Country winter through their harvest-season wedding in the loft of the barn.

Kristin and Mark’s plan to grow everything needed to feed a community was an ambitious idea, and a bit romantic. It worked. Every Friday evening, all year round, over a hundred people travel to Essex Farm to pick up their weekly share of the “whole diet” - beef, pork, chicken, milk, eggs, maple syrup, grains, flours, dried beans, herbs, fruits, and 40 different vegetables - produced by the farm. In The Dirty Life, Kristin discovers the wrenching pleasures of physical work, learns that good food is at the center of a good life, falls deeply in love, and finally finds the engagement and commitment she craved in the form of a man, a small town, and a beautiful piece of land.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2010 Kristin Kimball (P)2019 Simon & Schuster Audio

This was so powerful and passionate

i absolutely loved this book, the way it was wrote and the narrators voice. I found myself crying at odd times in the book simply from the weight of the words being spoken. This is a beautiful and honest love story and memoir not sugarcoated by romance but rater romanticised by the wise reflection of her journey.

Farm clarity

I loved listening to this book about Kristen's experience with farming. Like so many others, I fantasize about what working on a farm is like. This book highlighted the pain and the pleasure of being a farmer. Not sure if that was a good thing for me!

Downright Dirty (in a fresh way)

I love the gratifying concept of a mindful lifestyle. Having said that, I found it challenging to complete the book, because the narration fell flat for me.

Interesting listen

I enjoyed the story. I usually listen to books while I'm doing other things. This book was easy to follow and was very enjoyable to listen to. Through most of the book the author didn't seem to enjoy her experiences on the farm but she came to a point of learning the satisfaction of hard work. It was definitely an accurate depiction of what it's like to farm. No sugar coating the life.

Very good!!

Great book!! I really enjoy it when the author reads their own book. Well Done!!

A Different Life

Enjoyed the story, well written. I’m recommending it to friends. The breathy, whispering voice was a bit annoying

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!!!!!!!

A true love story; honest, raw, and beautiful! Physical human love, love of nature, love of life's journey, and recognition of self. I love how descriptive she is in her writing. I chuckled out loud many a time and was saddened and brought to tears as well. The idyllic life that so many of us envision versus the harsh reality of what the life of a farmer consists of has left me with a tremendous appreciation and gratitude for this lifestyle choice. Well done, and thank you!!!

Great writer and story of organic farming.

I love this writer. She makes me laugh and cry over the difficulties of joining a man with his dream of organic farming and trying to keep something for herself. She tries to juggle it all farming, becoming a Mother and writing an exceptional book.

Great book

Very well written and being read by the author you can feel her passion for her work. Her voice is nice too.

Speak like you really experienced this adventure!

The narrator spoke in a monotone, hushed voice. if this was the author it sounded like she wasn't very enthusiastic about her story. I almost stopped listening even though I wanted to hear about the experiences.