This past Tuesday I had the privilege of joining a book club discussion of The Last Farm at Market Square Coffeehouse in Orwigsburg, PA. Not only am I honored that they chose my book for their June read, but it was a fantastic discussion. This story hits home for a lot of people that are witnessing the development boom all across the country. Farms are disappearing into warehouses, housing developments, and stores. More than one reader had firsthand experience of places they knew that were “green islands in a sea of concrete”. We also had in attendance a reader who works in a warehouse, grateful for her job. There are pros and cons to everything, and there is no straightforward answer. I tried to portray all of this in the book, and for the most part people caught that. Of course, this group had a soft spot for the farmer.

This story is one that burned to get out of me. If I can incite discussion and awareness with a novel, then mission accomplished. Farm families are facing a lot right now, and as the economy booms and the call for jobs rises, development is natural. But what are the ripple effects?

It was a good thing we had this local book club, as I was also able to set the record straight on one important detail. This is a fictional family and fictional farm. Though my husband’s family has a farm, it is not about their farm. So…nope, we didn’t get offered $10 million by a warehouse developer. Our farm will hopefully be in the family another 200 years, God willing. That said, I’ve seen a lot of the things discussed in the book firsthand and merged them all into one epic tale. It was my way of being allowed to “open the kitchen doors” to the conversations happening in the farming community without naming names.

So thank you again to the Market Square readers! It was a pleasure to join you and thank you for reading my book.

Is your book club interested in reading The Last Farm? Check out my new discussion guide below. Please let me know if you pick it, and if I am able, I am always happy to either attend or call in! I’d love to hear what you think.

BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION GUIDE

• The opening note of The Last Farm is farmer Bill’s offer for his property from a developer. What are you seeing in your area in terms of farms being developed for other uses? What are your feelings on it?
• This family tale weaves together the lives of three primary characters: Farmer Bill and cousins Evie and Jeth. Who was your favorite?
• How did you feel about Jeth’s relationship with Sienna?
• Who was Biker Santa?
• What are the ripple effects of development that you didn’t think about before you read this novel?
• Evie’s arrowhead and the Native American history of the area played a factor in the family’s decisions with the farm, as did Pap’s memories. Have you thought about the historical implications of losing farmland in this context before?
• What out of this tale surprised you as being real? As fiction?

Feel free to email me more questions for this list. The next book club to read The Last Farm is One More Chapter Bookstore in Lehighton, PA on July 17. Looking forward to it!