Internet Chapter
Reader's Guide

Peace at Heart: An Oregon Country Life
by Barbara Drake

Synopsis:

Many dream of leaving the city for a new life in the country. Few follow that dream. In the late 1980's, Barbara Drake and her husband sold their home in Portland and moved to a farm in western Oregon's Yamhill Valley. Home was now a modest white house, an old red barn, and a small vineyard. In "Peace At Heart," Barbara Drake reflects on ten years of country living.

Weather, seasons, plants, and especially animals figure prominently in these stories. The constant company of animals - domestic and wild - on the farm inspires what Drake calls "the sacramental character of country life." In essays on birthing lambs, keeping bees, raising geese, and making wine, Drake combines gentle humor, practical advice, and deep respect for the work and the land. This rich gathering of observations and meditations - on everything from border collies to Oregon mud - captures the ordinary joys and everyday blessings of country life.

1. Why do people leave successful lives in cities to find a "simpler" life?

2. Have you ever had an experience like this?

3. How do you think the author had time to work and do all those chores???

4. The title is "Peace at Heart". Do you think that Barbara found peace in her new life in the country? Do you think that her husband did? Do you think they'll stay in the country or move back into a town/city?

5. Where is YOUR "peace at heart"?

6. What traits must a woman possess in order to embark on such a journey?

7. How does one live on a farm and not become a vegetarian?

8. I wonder what other readers and members of SCN see as their own secret gardens and how they have come to reap the fruits therein.

Last updated: 10/27/02