Shepherdess

Joan Jarvis Ellison grew up in the suburbs of a large city. Her closest encounter with farm life was a white rat in a plastic cage. After earning a master's degree in biophysical sciences and working for several years in a research laboratory, she retired to Pelican Rapids, a small town in rural Minnesota, to raise children and sheep.

"Ellison put her career in research biochemistry on hold inorder to raise two daughters. After 10 years, she wanted to work again but wastoo out of touch with technology and too attached to her rural home to go backto biochemistry. What to do? She turned her hobby of spinning into a business:sheepherding. These are her memories, advice, and lessons learned from thefirst seven years of the business, and they're delightful. Ellison's chaptersflow sensitively - sometimes exuding a mother's common sense, sometimesMcMurtryesque pathos, sometimes gently pointed Bombeckish humor. Undoubtedly this is a great acquisition for ruralarea libraries, but it's more than a farmer's account. This is inspiration forall women who may be contemplating joining the workforce yet feel unprepared orunsure that what they are interested in could become a fulfilling business." Booklist