
The Shepherd's Life
Modern Dispatches from an Ancient Landscape
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $14.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Bryan Dick
-
By:
-
James Rebanks
About this listen
The instant number-one international best seller.
Some people's lives are entirely their own creations. James Rebanks' isn't. He's the first son of a shepherd who was the first son of a shepherd himself; his family have lived and worked in the Lake District of Northern England for generations, further back than recorded history. It's a part of the world known mainly for its romantic descriptions by Wordsworth and the much-loved illustrated children's books of Beatrix Potter.
But James' world is quite different. His way of life is ordered by the seasons and the work they demand. It hasn't changed for hundreds of years: sending the sheep to the fells in the summer and making the hay; the autumn fairs where the flocks are replenished; the grueling toil of winter when the sheep must be kept alive, and the lightheadedness that comes with spring, as the lambs are born and the sheep get ready to return to the hills and valleys.
The Shepherd's Life is the story of a deep-rooted attachment to place, modern dispatches from an ancient landscape that describe a way of life that is little noticed and yet has profoundly shaped the landscape over time. In evocative and lucid prose, James Rebanks takes us through a shepherd's year, offering a unique account of rural life and a fundamental connection with the land that most of us have lost. It is a story of working lives, the people around him, his childhood, his parents and grandparents, a people who exist and endure even as the culture - of the Lake District and of farming - changes around them. Many memoirs are of people working desperately hard to leave a place. This is the story of someone trying desperately hard to stay.
©2015 James Rebanks (P)2015 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
Pastoral Song
- By: James Rebanks
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a boy, James Rebanks's grandfather taught him to work the land the old way. Their family farm in England's Lake District hills was part of an ancient agricultural landscape: a patchwork of crops and meadows, of pastures grazed with livestock, and hedgerows teeming with wildlife. And yet, by the time James inherited the farm, it was barely recognizable. The men and women had vanished from the fields; the old stone barns had crumbled; the skies had emptied of birds and their wind-blown song.
-
-
Peter Noble's narration ruined this book for me.
- By sarah clayton on 08-18-21
By: James Rebanks
-
The Farmer's Wife
- My Life in Days
- By: Helen Rebanks
- Narrated by: Esmée Cook, Helen Rebanks
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Helen Rebanks' beautifully written memoir takes place across a single day on her working farm in the Lake District of England. Weaving past and present, through a journey of self-discovery, the book takes us from the farmhouse table of her grandmother and into the home she now shares with her husband, James, their four kids, and an abundance of animals. With honesty and grace, Helen shares her life in days—sometimes a wonder and a joy, others a grind to be survived—weaving in stories that unfolds like a well-written pastoral novel.
-
-
A serendipitous find
- By Claudia Fox Reppen on 01-18-24
By: Helen Rebanks
-
The Shepherd's View
- Modern Photographs from an Ancient Landscape
- By: James Rebanks
- Narrated by: Bryan Dick
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling author of The Shepherd's Life, a breathtaking book of wisdom that chronicles an ancient way of living that deeply resonates in our modern world. The English Lake District comes into full focus: the sheep competitions of the spring, the sweeping pastures of the summer, beloved sheep dogs in the fall, and the harsh snows of winter. A celebration of a way of life still very much alive, The Shepherd's View is a poetic and artistic achievement from one of England's most celebrated new voices.
By: James Rebanks
-
My Farming Life
- Tales from a Shepherdess on a Remote Northumberland Farm
- By: Emma Gray
- Narrated by: Helen McAlpine
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Emma Gray was just 23 when she moved to an isolated farm in Northumberland, becoming Britain's youngest solo shepherdess. In the seasons that followed, Emma fell in love with its rolling fields, sycamore trees and sturdy farmhouse, where she tended her sheep and trained her dogs - and even found romance along the way. But when Emma finds herself suddenly alone again, heartbroken, mourning the loss of loved ones and recovering from a serious accident, she can't help but wonder if her isolated existence is still such a sensible idea.
-
-
Sweet enjoyment
- By Bruce on 08-11-22
By: Emma Gray
-
One Girl and Her Dogs
- Life, Love and Lambing in the Middle of Nowhere
- By: Emma Gray
- Narrated by: Helen McAlpine
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When 23-year-old shepherdess Emma Gray breaks off her engagement, the chance to take over an isolated Northumberland farm seems just the fresh start she needs. But while the beautiful scenery certainly offers plenty of scope for contemplation, a night out with an eligible bachelor soon seems more remote than the farm itself. And once you add fugitive sheep and freak blizzards into the mix, Emma's dreams of a happy future at Fallowlees Farm quickly begin to fade.
-
-
A Sweet Story
- By Grainne on 03-14-22
By: Emma Gray
-
Where the Deer and the Antelope Play
- The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside
- By: Nick Offerman
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A humorous and rousing set of literal and figurative sojourns as well as a mission statement about comprehending, protecting, and truly experiencing the outdoors, fueled by three journeys undertaken by actor, humorist, and New York Times best-selling author Nick Offerman
-
-
By far his worst work to date.
- By Aron on 10-21-21
By: Nick Offerman
-
Pastoral Song
- By: James Rebanks
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a boy, James Rebanks's grandfather taught him to work the land the old way. Their family farm in England's Lake District hills was part of an ancient agricultural landscape: a patchwork of crops and meadows, of pastures grazed with livestock, and hedgerows teeming with wildlife. And yet, by the time James inherited the farm, it was barely recognizable. The men and women had vanished from the fields; the old stone barns had crumbled; the skies had emptied of birds and their wind-blown song.
-
-
Peter Noble's narration ruined this book for me.
- By sarah clayton on 08-18-21
By: James Rebanks
-
The Farmer's Wife
- My Life in Days
- By: Helen Rebanks
- Narrated by: Esmée Cook, Helen Rebanks
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Helen Rebanks' beautifully written memoir takes place across a single day on her working farm in the Lake District of England. Weaving past and present, through a journey of self-discovery, the book takes us from the farmhouse table of her grandmother and into the home she now shares with her husband, James, their four kids, and an abundance of animals. With honesty and grace, Helen shares her life in days—sometimes a wonder and a joy, others a grind to be survived—weaving in stories that unfolds like a well-written pastoral novel.
-
-
A serendipitous find
- By Claudia Fox Reppen on 01-18-24
By: Helen Rebanks
-
The Shepherd's View
- Modern Photographs from an Ancient Landscape
- By: James Rebanks
- Narrated by: Bryan Dick
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling author of The Shepherd's Life, a breathtaking book of wisdom that chronicles an ancient way of living that deeply resonates in our modern world. The English Lake District comes into full focus: the sheep competitions of the spring, the sweeping pastures of the summer, beloved sheep dogs in the fall, and the harsh snows of winter. A celebration of a way of life still very much alive, The Shepherd's View is a poetic and artistic achievement from one of England's most celebrated new voices.
By: James Rebanks
-
My Farming Life
- Tales from a Shepherdess on a Remote Northumberland Farm
- By: Emma Gray
- Narrated by: Helen McAlpine
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Emma Gray was just 23 when she moved to an isolated farm in Northumberland, becoming Britain's youngest solo shepherdess. In the seasons that followed, Emma fell in love with its rolling fields, sycamore trees and sturdy farmhouse, where she tended her sheep and trained her dogs - and even found romance along the way. But when Emma finds herself suddenly alone again, heartbroken, mourning the loss of loved ones and recovering from a serious accident, she can't help but wonder if her isolated existence is still such a sensible idea.
-
-
Sweet enjoyment
- By Bruce on 08-11-22
By: Emma Gray
-
One Girl and Her Dogs
- Life, Love and Lambing in the Middle of Nowhere
- By: Emma Gray
- Narrated by: Helen McAlpine
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When 23-year-old shepherdess Emma Gray breaks off her engagement, the chance to take over an isolated Northumberland farm seems just the fresh start she needs. But while the beautiful scenery certainly offers plenty of scope for contemplation, a night out with an eligible bachelor soon seems more remote than the farm itself. And once you add fugitive sheep and freak blizzards into the mix, Emma's dreams of a happy future at Fallowlees Farm quickly begin to fade.
-
-
A Sweet Story
- By Grainne on 03-14-22
By: Emma Gray
-
Where the Deer and the Antelope Play
- The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside
- By: Nick Offerman
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A humorous and rousing set of literal and figurative sojourns as well as a mission statement about comprehending, protecting, and truly experiencing the outdoors, fueled by three journeys undertaken by actor, humorist, and New York Times best-selling author Nick Offerman
-
-
By far his worst work to date.
- By Aron on 10-21-21
By: Nick Offerman
-
The Unsettling of America
- Culture & Agriculture
- By: Wendell Berry
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since its publication in 1977, The Unsettling of America has been recognized as a classic of American letters. In it, Wendell Berry argues that good farming is a cultural and spiritual discipline. Today’s agribusiness, however, takes farming out of its cultural context and away from families. As a result, we as a nation are more estranged from the land - from the intimate knowledge, love, and care of it.
-
-
love the material, meh on the performance.
- By Fireham on 07-10-20
By: Wendell Berry
-
The Need to Be Whole
- By: Wendell Berry
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman
- Length: 19 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wendell Berry has never been afraid to speak up for the dispossessed. The Need to Be Whole continues the work he began in The Hidden Wound (1970) and The Unsettling of America (1977), demanding a careful exploration of this hard, shared truth: The wealth of the mighty few governing this nation has been built on the unpaid labor of others.
-
-
Necessary Reading for These Troubled Times
- By Jane Vandenburgh on 11-05-22
By: Wendell Berry
-
Wilding
- The Return of Nature to a British Farm
- By: Isabella Tree
- Narrated by: Isabella Tree
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For years Charlie Burrell and his wife, Isabella Tree, farmed Knepp Castle Estate and struggled to turn a profit. By 2000, with the farm facing bankruptcy, they decided to try something radical. They would restore Knepp’s 3,500 acres to the wild. Using herds of free-roaming animals to mimic the actions of the megafauna of the past, they hoped to bring nature back to their depleted land. But what would the neighbors say, in the manicured countryside of modern England where a blade of grass out of place is considered an affront?
-
-
In wildness is the preservation of the world
- By Nat Taggart on 03-27-20
By: Isabella Tree
-
Dirt to Soil
- One Family’s Journey into Regenerative Agriculture
- By: Gabe Brown
- Narrated by: Gabe Brown
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Dirt to Soil, Gabe Brown tells the story of his ranch's amazing journey and offers a wealth of innovative solutions to our most pressing and complex contemporary agricultural challenge - restoring the soil. The Brown’s Ranch model, developed over 20 years of experimentation and refinement, focuses on regenerating resources by continuously enhancing the living biology in the soil.
-
-
loved it.
- By Amazon Customer on 01-29-19
By: Gabe Brown
-
Our Wild Farming Life: Adventures on a Scottish Highland Croft
- By: Lynn Cassells, Sandra Baer
- Narrated by: Lynn Cassells
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As seen on the BBC’s This Farming Life. The inspirational story of Lynbreck Croft - a regenerative Scottish farm rooted in local food, community, and the dreams of two women. Lynn and Sandra left their friends, family, and jobs in England to travel north to Scotland to find a bit of land that they could call their own. They had in mind keeping a few chickens, a kitchen garden, and renting out some camping space; instead, they fell in love with Lynbreck Croft - 150 acres of opportunity and beauty, shrouded by the Cairngorms and deep in the Highlands of Scotland.
-
-
Lovely read
- By Betsy Blueberry on 04-14-22
By: Lynn Cassells, and others
-
An Original Audiobook Adaptation of Nourishment
- What Animals Can Teach Us About Rediscovering Our Nutritional Wisdom
- By: Fred Provenza
- Narrated by: Fred Provenza
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Animal scientists have long considered domestic livestock to be too dumb to know how to eat right, but the lifetime research of animal behaviorist Fred Provenza and his colleagues has debunked this myth. Their work shows that when given a choice of natural foods, livestock have an astoundingly refined palate, nibbling through the day on as many as fifty kinds of grasses, forbs, and shrubs to meet their nutritional needs with remarkable precision.
-
-
Fascinating, & a little wide ranging
- By Anonymous User on 08-07-23
By: Fred Provenza
-
A Sand County Almanac
- And Sketches Here and There
- By: Aldo Leopold, Barbara Kingsolver - introduction
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 4 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
First published in 1949 and praised in the New York Times Book Review as "full of beauty and vigor and bite", A Sand County Almanac combines some of the finest nature writing since Thoreau with an outspoken and highly ethical regard for America's relationship to the land.
-
-
Great in some ways; in others, wtf!
- By RG on 06-22-20
By: Aldo Leopold, and others
-
A Bold Return to Giving a Damn
- One Farm, Six Generations, and the Future of Food
- By: Will Harris
- Narrated by: Will Harris
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Raised as a fourth-generation farmer, when Will Harris inherited White Oak Pastures he was a full-time commodity cowboy who played hard and fast with every tool the system offered–chemicals, antibiotics, steroids, and more. His ancestors had built a highly profitable, conventionally run machine, but over time he found himself disgusted with the excess, cruelty, and smalltown devastation this system entailed. So he bet the farm on forging a different way of doing things. One that works with nature not against it, and bridges the quickly widening delta between consumers and their food.
-
-
Lie after lie. Complete NARCISSIST!!! Don’t waste your time
- By Roni Crone on 11-24-23
By: Will Harris
-
East of Eden
- By: John Steinbeck
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 25 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This sprawling and often brutal novel, set in the rich farmlands of California's Salinas Valley, follows the intertwined destinies of two families - the Trasks and the Hamiltons - whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel.
-
-
Why have I avoided this Beautiful Book???
- By Kelly on 03-25-17
By: John Steinbeck
-
A Short History of the World According to Sheep
- By: Sally Coulthard
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the plains of ancient Mesopotamia to the rolling hills of medieval England to the vast sheep farms of modern-day Australia, sheep have been central to the human story. Starting with our Neolithic ancestors' first forays into sheep-rearing nearly 10,000 years ago, these remarkable animals have fed us, clothed us, changed our diet and languages, helped us to win wars, decorated our homes and financed the conquest of large swathes of the earth.
-
-
I couldn't stop talking about sheep after reading
- By Hayley Robertson on 07-19-22
By: Sally Coulthard
-
Deep Creek
- Finding Hope in the High Country
- By: Pam Houston
- Narrated by: Pam Houston
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On her 120-acre homestead high in the Colorado Rockies, beloved writer Pam Houston learns what it means to care for a piece of land and the creatures on it. Elk calves and bluebirds mark the changing seasons, winter temperatures drop to 35 below, and lightning sparks a 110,000-acre wildfire, threatening her century-old barn and all its inhabitants. Through her travels from the Gulf of Mexico to Alaska, she explores what ties her to the Earth, the ranch most of all.
-
-
The most beautiful book I’ve ever read
- By KFratt on 04-26-19
By: Pam Houston
-
The Yorkshire Shepherdess
- By: Amanda Owen
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amanda Owen has been seen by millions on ITV's The Dales, living a life that has almost gone in today's modern world, a life ruled by the seasons and her animals. She is a farmer's wife and shepherdess, living alongside her husband, Clive, and seven children at Ravenseat, a 2,000 acre sheep hill farm at the head of Swaledale in North Yorkshire. It's a challenging life but one she loves.
-
-
I want to go and have cream tea and meet all the animals and the shepherdess herself
- By luvs aussies on 05-30-19
By: Amanda Owen
Critic reviews
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Pastoral Song
- By: James Rebanks
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a boy, James Rebanks's grandfather taught him to work the land the old way. Their family farm in England's Lake District hills was part of an ancient agricultural landscape: a patchwork of crops and meadows, of pastures grazed with livestock, and hedgerows teeming with wildlife. And yet, by the time James inherited the farm, it was barely recognizable. The men and women had vanished from the fields; the old stone barns had crumbled; the skies had emptied of birds and their wind-blown song.
-
-
Peter Noble's narration ruined this book for me.
- By sarah clayton on 08-18-21
By: James Rebanks
-
The Place of Tides
- By: James Rebanks
- Narrated by: Bryan Dick
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One afternoon many years ago, James Rebanks met an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a tiny rocky outcrop, caring for wild Eider ducks and gathering their down. Hers was a centuries-old trade that had once made men and women rich but had long been in decline. Still, somehow, she seemed to be hanging on. Back at home, Rebanks couldn’t stop thinking about the woman on the rocks. She was fierce and otherworldly—and yet strangely familiar.
By: James Rebanks
-
The Farmer's Wife
- My Life in Days
- By: Helen Rebanks
- Narrated by: Esmée Cook, Helen Rebanks
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Helen Rebanks' beautifully written memoir takes place across a single day on her working farm in the Lake District of England. Weaving past and present, through a journey of self-discovery, the book takes us from the farmhouse table of her grandmother and into the home she now shares with her husband, James, their four kids, and an abundance of animals. With honesty and grace, Helen shares her life in days—sometimes a wonder and a joy, others a grind to be survived—weaving in stories that unfolds like a well-written pastoral novel.
-
-
A serendipitous find
- By Claudia Fox Reppen on 01-18-24
By: Helen Rebanks
-
One Girl and Her Dogs
- Life, Love and Lambing in the Middle of Nowhere
- By: Emma Gray
- Narrated by: Helen McAlpine
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When 23-year-old shepherdess Emma Gray breaks off her engagement, the chance to take over an isolated Northumberland farm seems just the fresh start she needs. But while the beautiful scenery certainly offers plenty of scope for contemplation, a night out with an eligible bachelor soon seems more remote than the farm itself. And once you add fugitive sheep and freak blizzards into the mix, Emma's dreams of a happy future at Fallowlees Farm quickly begin to fade.
-
-
A Sweet Story
- By Grainne on 03-14-22
By: Emma Gray
-
Where the Deer and the Antelope Play
- The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside
- By: Nick Offerman
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A humorous and rousing set of literal and figurative sojourns as well as a mission statement about comprehending, protecting, and truly experiencing the outdoors, fueled by three journeys undertaken by actor, humorist, and New York Times best-selling author Nick Offerman
-
-
By far his worst work to date.
- By Aron on 10-21-21
By: Nick Offerman
-
Our Wild Farming Life: Adventures on a Scottish Highland Croft
- By: Lynn Cassells, Sandra Baer
- Narrated by: Lynn Cassells
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As seen on the BBC’s This Farming Life. The inspirational story of Lynbreck Croft - a regenerative Scottish farm rooted in local food, community, and the dreams of two women. Lynn and Sandra left their friends, family, and jobs in England to travel north to Scotland to find a bit of land that they could call their own. They had in mind keeping a few chickens, a kitchen garden, and renting out some camping space; instead, they fell in love with Lynbreck Croft - 150 acres of opportunity and beauty, shrouded by the Cairngorms and deep in the Highlands of Scotland.
-
-
Lovely read
- By Betsy Blueberry on 04-14-22
By: Lynn Cassells, and others
-
Pastoral Song
- By: James Rebanks
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a boy, James Rebanks's grandfather taught him to work the land the old way. Their family farm in England's Lake District hills was part of an ancient agricultural landscape: a patchwork of crops and meadows, of pastures grazed with livestock, and hedgerows teeming with wildlife. And yet, by the time James inherited the farm, it was barely recognizable. The men and women had vanished from the fields; the old stone barns had crumbled; the skies had emptied of birds and their wind-blown song.
-
-
Peter Noble's narration ruined this book for me.
- By sarah clayton on 08-18-21
By: James Rebanks
-
The Place of Tides
- By: James Rebanks
- Narrated by: Bryan Dick
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One afternoon many years ago, James Rebanks met an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a tiny rocky outcrop, caring for wild Eider ducks and gathering their down. Hers was a centuries-old trade that had once made men and women rich but had long been in decline. Still, somehow, she seemed to be hanging on. Back at home, Rebanks couldn’t stop thinking about the woman on the rocks. She was fierce and otherworldly—and yet strangely familiar.
By: James Rebanks
-
The Farmer's Wife
- My Life in Days
- By: Helen Rebanks
- Narrated by: Esmée Cook, Helen Rebanks
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Helen Rebanks' beautifully written memoir takes place across a single day on her working farm in the Lake District of England. Weaving past and present, through a journey of self-discovery, the book takes us from the farmhouse table of her grandmother and into the home she now shares with her husband, James, their four kids, and an abundance of animals. With honesty and grace, Helen shares her life in days—sometimes a wonder and a joy, others a grind to be survived—weaving in stories that unfolds like a well-written pastoral novel.
-
-
A serendipitous find
- By Claudia Fox Reppen on 01-18-24
By: Helen Rebanks
-
One Girl and Her Dogs
- Life, Love and Lambing in the Middle of Nowhere
- By: Emma Gray
- Narrated by: Helen McAlpine
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When 23-year-old shepherdess Emma Gray breaks off her engagement, the chance to take over an isolated Northumberland farm seems just the fresh start she needs. But while the beautiful scenery certainly offers plenty of scope for contemplation, a night out with an eligible bachelor soon seems more remote than the farm itself. And once you add fugitive sheep and freak blizzards into the mix, Emma's dreams of a happy future at Fallowlees Farm quickly begin to fade.
-
-
A Sweet Story
- By Grainne on 03-14-22
By: Emma Gray
-
Where the Deer and the Antelope Play
- The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside
- By: Nick Offerman
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A humorous and rousing set of literal and figurative sojourns as well as a mission statement about comprehending, protecting, and truly experiencing the outdoors, fueled by three journeys undertaken by actor, humorist, and New York Times best-selling author Nick Offerman
-
-
By far his worst work to date.
- By Aron on 10-21-21
By: Nick Offerman
-
Our Wild Farming Life: Adventures on a Scottish Highland Croft
- By: Lynn Cassells, Sandra Baer
- Narrated by: Lynn Cassells
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As seen on the BBC’s This Farming Life. The inspirational story of Lynbreck Croft - a regenerative Scottish farm rooted in local food, community, and the dreams of two women. Lynn and Sandra left their friends, family, and jobs in England to travel north to Scotland to find a bit of land that they could call their own. They had in mind keeping a few chickens, a kitchen garden, and renting out some camping space; instead, they fell in love with Lynbreck Croft - 150 acres of opportunity and beauty, shrouded by the Cairngorms and deep in the Highlands of Scotland.
-
-
Lovely read
- By Betsy Blueberry on 04-14-22
By: Lynn Cassells, and others
What listeners say about The Shepherd's Life
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- the Shepherdess
- 12-11-15
Not to be missed.
As an American shepherdess, I found so much to identify with while listening to this story. I found much truth about this way of life told with almost unbearable insight. For anyone wishing to better understand why some of us cherish this vocation, they can not do better than to read or listen to this book. Well done you, Mr. Rebanks.
And a tip of the hat to Bryan Dick for the reading.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- sarah clayton
- 08-18-21
BRYAN DICK BRINGS THIS BOOK ALIVE
Bryan Dick's narration of this book brought it alive and made it a delightful listen. I've recommended it to all my family.
Sarah
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Elizabeth
- 12-31-21
Absolutely loved it!
It’s erudite, heartfelt and simply wonderful. A man growing from young adult to manhood and reclaiming his roots in his love of the land and his sheep. How much I can share his feeling about his his sheep and land. I once had a small flock of Shetland sheep, another one of those unimproved breeds. I miss them so much but had to give them up for my health. Every thing James Rebanks writes about being a shepherd is true. And one can’t help but love sheep. I always loved the way they smelled - the predominant odor is lanolin, except during breeding time when the males take on their must smell. This is just a wonderful narrative.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Suzanne C.
- 12-29-22
Surprisingly good
It was both a restful and stimulating read. It made one feel as though he were there,
observing and even experiencing the life of a shepherd.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Classical Mom
- 02-15-22
Beautiful story
Very moving, beautiful story. It was a privilege to hear about this man’s life and land and loves.
And the reader was fantastic.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- L.J. B.
- 11-08-22
Beautiful
Thank you for a perfectly read insight into a shepherd’s life revealing the intimate and intelligent bond between humans, sheep, dogs, and seasons.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Michael W Emery
- 01-17-25
Wonderful Story of Farming Life in The Lake District of the UK
Great descriptions of farmers and farm life. Focused on folks who raise and breed sheep. I loved the way that James’ farming life is directly connected to ancient ways. I Found it very interesting.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 03-14-17
Amazing documentary of a way of life rapidly disappearing
It was like walking in the hills, laying on the grass, observing the beautiful landscape. It was beautifully narrated. I am hoping the author writes another specifically on sheep farming including raising, breeding and doctoring. Covers superficially sheep farming more in a romantic anecdotal way, but very knowledgeable of the old way of doing things, I am very interested on learning such ways before they are lost.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stephen York
- 08-21-21
Excellent!
This is a dynamic book written in in the spirit of Wendell Berry. Highly recommended!
Dr. Stephen York
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Elizabeth Trail
- 10-09-22
Deserves TEN stars
I'm on my third listen and still discovering profound new insights. I need to own this book in print -- and I don't say that often.
Memoir is my favorite genre, so sheep and sheepdogs and the Lake District sounded perfect -- James Herriot from the farmer's point of view. But as someone who lives in and loves my own rural place, without being truly "hefted" here (you'll understand when you've listened to the book), I was immediately caught up in James Rebank's central question -- how different groups of people develop a sense of "ownership" of a place, a landscape, based on their own expectations and experiences there. The 18th and 19th century artists and poets romanticized the Lake District. Hikers and tourists have made it their own. Teachers (at least the ones Rebanks encountered at the local comprehensive in his day), counted their successes as the students who escaped to other places. And yet, the Lake District is a working landscape -- created by centuries of farmers and livestock interacting with the land. So if there is a question of who holds claim to the "real" Lake District (and sometimes there is), Rebanks argues persuasively that title goes to the forgotten centuries of nameless farmers and shepherds, who cleared the fields, planted the hedgerows, and patiently built and rebuilt the endless miles of stone walls, a few feet every year.
The autobiography and the sheep stories are just the backdrop of a profound and multifaceted consideration of place, community, and what constitutes a life worth living. The story of how the author went from dropout to Oxford would be fascinating if he was at all impressed. He's not. The main thing he got from university, from his point of view, was the ability to earn enough money to keep his farm going another generation. And yet, how much of his keen awareness of the forces brought to bear on his beloved way of life does he owe to his education?
Anyway, an amazing book. The narrator does just what he should -- reads well and convincingly, and stays out of the way of the story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!