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  • Published: 15 February 2002
  • ISBN: 9780553380156
  • Imprint: Bantam Dell
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $34.99

Fifty Acres and a Poodle

A Story of Love, Livestock, and Finding Myself on a Farm



“Humorous . . . This true-life tale charts a big-city girl’s transformation to farm gal.”—People

“Jeanne Marie Laskas is the thinking woman’s Erma Bombeck . . . [with] a talent for finding wisdom in daily life. . . . Even the most entrenched urbanite will be charmed by this book.”—Time

Jeanne Marie Laskas had a dream of fleeing her otherwise happy urban life for fresh air and open space—a dream she would discover was about something more than that. But she never expected her fantasy to come true until a summer afternoon’s drive in the country.

That’s when she and her boyfriend, Alex—owner of Marley the poodle—stumble upon the place she thought existed only in her dreams. This pretty-as-a-picture-postcard farm with an Amish barn, a chestnut grove, and breathtaking vistas is real . . . and for sale. And it’s where she knows her future begins.

But buying a postcard—fifty acres of scenery—and living on it are two entirely different matters. The questions seem endless: How long before the barn roof collapses? Should they buy sheep? Will the place be good for her writing, and for her relationship with Alex? 
 
With wit and wisdom, Laskas shares everything she learned about life, love, and the unexpected complications of having your dream come true.

  • Published: 15 February 2002
  • ISBN: 9780553380156
  • Imprint: Bantam Dell
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $34.99

About the author

Jeanne Marie Laskas

JEANNE MARIE LASKAS is a columnist for The Washington Post Magazine, where her "Significant Others" essays appear weekly, and a contributing editor at Esquire. She is also an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh, where she teaches creative writing. When she’s not working on her next book, she, Alex, and their two daughters tend the goats, sheep, horses, mules, and other animals at Sweetwater Farm in Scenery Hill, Pennsylvania.

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