In Novella Carpenter’s book, Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer, the author describes her adventure of creating a farm in an urban area she called “Ghost Town Farm” on a dead end street in the ghetto of Oakland, California. This non-fiction book is based on a true story of Carpenter’s life of creating a sustainable farm in an abandoned lot next to her apartment. Carpenter is the daughter of two hippies and believes that she is connecting to her roots by living out this farm city dream. She is an experienced writer with a degree in biology and English at the University of Washington. She has several odd jobs, one being a bug handler. The reason Carpenter decided to embark on this endeavor was not out of a love for animals, but for
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Carpenter decided to order a “box o’birds”, which only cost her $42 for two turkeys, ten chickens, two geese, and two ducks. She housed them in a make shift home for them in her apartment until they were able to live outside. She also fed them via her home-grown garden. Eventually, Carpenter decides to enhance her farm even more by receiving rabbits and pigs. She describes how she receives and harvested these animals throughout the book. Even though she grew attached to these animals and names them, she knew that they were food not pets. At one point, she describes receiving a hatchet in the mail to use to slaughter her bunny. She had many experiences raising these animals and learned many things most people from the city did not. After killing a rabbit, she states “I was thankful that he has been born and thrived on my farm. His flesh became my flesh” (176). She also discusses how she killed one of her animals for a thanksgiving feast. At one point in her book she discusses how she struggled finding someone who would come and slaughter her pigs. This was difficult, because businesses would only do “farm kills” and her farm resided in the city. Eventually, she found a woman who could do the job. Carpenter also began going to a restaurant not far from her home where she could learn how to prepare gourmet meals. This shows readers that Carpenter truly connected to these animals and was grateful to know where her food source …show more content…
It follows Carpenter’s journey precisely and she shows her readers her highs and lows throughout. No, this was not easy for her, but it was a dream of hers in which she fulfilled. Anyone can tell her passion toward this in her writing, “And is anyone asked, I could say: I am a farmer”, she stated on her last sentence (269). She was proud of her accomplishments. Carpenter worked hard for what she had and her story follows how she achieved it. While I read this book, I related to it. I do not live in the city, but on a farm. I know the hard work you have to perform to be able to upkeep a farm. You have to dedicate a vast majority of your time to the crops and the animals. It is not a hobby, it is a job. To be able to do what Carpenter did takes a large amount of ambition and passion. Her story is very inspiring. It may not be everyone’s dream to have their own farm, but Carpenter proves that no matter what your dream may be, it is not
Carpenter decided to order a “box o’birds”, which only cost her $42 for two turkeys, ten chickens, two geese, and two ducks. She housed them in a make shift home for them in her apartment until they were able to live outside. She also fed them via her home-grown garden. Eventually, Carpenter decides to enhance her farm even more by receiving rabbits and pigs. She describes how she receives and harvested these animals throughout the book. Even though she grew attached to these animals and names them, she knew that they were food not pets. At one point, she describes receiving a hatchet in the mail to use to slaughter her bunny. She had many experiences raising these animals and learned many things most people from the city did not. After killing a rabbit, she states “I was thankful that he has been born and thrived on my farm. His flesh became my flesh” (176). She also discusses how she killed one of her animals for a thanksgiving feast. At one point in her book she discusses how she struggled finding someone who would come and slaughter her pigs. This was difficult, because businesses would only do “farm kills” and her farm resided in the city. Eventually, she found a woman who could do the job. Carpenter also began going to a restaurant not far from her home where she could learn how to prepare gourmet meals. This shows readers that Carpenter truly connected to these animals and was grateful to know where her food source …show more content…
It follows Carpenter’s journey precisely and she shows her readers her highs and lows throughout. No, this was not easy for her, but it was a dream of hers in which she fulfilled. Anyone can tell her passion toward this in her writing, “And is anyone asked, I could say: I am a farmer”, she stated on her last sentence (269). She was proud of her accomplishments. Carpenter worked hard for what she had and her story follows how she achieved it. While I read this book, I related to it. I do not live in the city, but on a farm. I know the hard work you have to perform to be able to upkeep a farm. You have to dedicate a vast majority of your time to the crops and the animals. It is not a hobby, it is a job. To be able to do what Carpenter did takes a large amount of ambition and passion. Her story is very inspiring. It may not be everyone’s dream to have their own farm, but Carpenter proves that no matter what your dream may be, it is not