From the Publisher
In this celebration of rural America, web celeb Drummond, aka 'The Pioneer Woman,' tells warm-hearted stories. . . . Grab a root beer and prepare to grin.” — Booklist
“[A] must-read celebration of the ups and downs of life.” — Good Morning America
“The Pioneer Woman continues her streak of being relatable, funny and so-darn-charming in her collection of stories and musings on country life. . . . A cozy celebration of family.” — E! Online
“In her memoir, The Pioneer Woman, the Food Network star detailed her city-girl romance with a sexy cowboy who lured her to his ranch. Now she’s back with a collection of stories about their raucous life there with four kids. Filled with candor and self-deprecating wit, it’s a charmer.” — People
Booklist
In this celebration of rural America, web celeb Drummond, aka 'The Pioneer Woman,' tells warm-hearted stories. . . . Grab a root beer and prepare to grin.
People
In her memoir, The Pioneer Woman, the Food Network star detailed her city-girl romance with a sexy cowboy who lured her to his ranch. Now she’s back with a collection of stories about their raucous life there with four kids. Filled with candor and self-deprecating wit, it’s a charmer.
E! Online
The Pioneer Woman continues her streak of being relatable, funny and so-darn-charming in her collection of stories and musings on country life. . . . A cozy celebration of family.
Good Morning America
[A] must-read celebration of the ups and downs of life.
Booklist
In this celebration of rural America, web celeb Drummond, aka 'The Pioneer Woman,' tells warm-hearted stories. . . . Grab a root beer and prepare to grin.
Library Journal
10/23/2020
Drummond, author of several books including The Pioneer Woman Cooks, has built a brand for herself based on her popular website, The Pioneer Woman, and cooking show of the same name. This personal memoir tells the story of finding strength and resiliency by living on and with the land. The author shares her struggles of marriage, parenting, and even cooking with humor and reliability, while also spotlighting details of life "in the middle of nowhere" that lend a spirit of Little House on the Prairie—style nostalgia. As on her blog, Drummond candidly shares anecdotes about becoming a homeschooling family, encouraging her children to work on the ranch while accepting that they might not want to, and developing cooking and laundry routines during quarantine. Illustrations by Joel Holland add creativity between chapters. Also included are personal touches, such as a recipe for Drummond's favorite sandwich during quarantine and recollections of both beloved and unremarkable family vacations. VERDICT Quirky and fun, this book offers a combination of practical tips, amusing stories, and moments of whimsy like the author's list of ways to "add sparks to your marriage" by hiding a plastic snake in the house. A treat for fans of Drummond.—Emily Bowles, Lawrence Univ., WI
Kirkus Reviews
2020-10-13
More anecdotal tales from the Pioneer Woman.
Best known for her cookbooks and Food Network show, Drummond offers readers a glimpse into her personal life with her family and animals on her Oklahoma ranch. Her latest book, she writes, is “a silly celebration of the everyday moments of my life in rural America, and every single story you’ll read is true.” It is not, she admits, “a sustained narrative, except in the sense that love is woven throughout.” In these vignettes spanning more than two decades, the author recounts a variety of mildly amusing stories: spooking her husband, Ladd, with a rubber snake, as well as the reciprocal tricks he plays on her; why she does the dishes when they argue; nicknames for each other; and lists of 20 interesting things about each of them (“I could sleep in a bed of crumbs and never notice”). On a more serious note, Drummond discusses motherhood and home schooling, the problems with summer on a cattle ranch, and struggling with a sound disorder called misophonia. It’s not long, however, before the author is right back to humorous tales about cows, including the castration of young bulls and how to prepare the testicles. Drummond includes a few recipes, but her aim here is less about instruction than about sharing her lifestyle, which she does with a conversational, sometimes overly cutesy tone. She also includes lists of what foods to stockpile, the names of the horses on the ranch, and why her prized rosebush died: “My poor, beloved plant had experienced death by urine, also known as nitrogen burn….Ladd had killed my rosebush by peeing on it repeatedly.” Overall, the author offers a scattered yet well-rounded portrait of her life behind the TV show and cookbooks.
Sure to please Drummond’s many fans but may not convert those unfamiliar with the Pioneer Woman.
