The Blueberry Years - by Jim Minick (Paperback)

About the Book

"The Blueberry Years is a mouthwatering and delightful memoir based on Jim Minick's experiences as an organic blueberry farmer. This story of one couple, one farm, and one thousand bushes transports readers so that they experience the joys and frustrations of creating and operating one of the mid-Atlantic's first certified-organic, pick-your-own blueberry farms. Written by a farmer who also is a poet, The Blueberry Years follows in the vein of The Omnivore's Dilemma or Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, where lyrical writing captures a well-told story about food, family, and the choices we make with every bite"--Cover, p. 2.

Book Synopsis

"A truly inspiring story, in gorgeous prose, about one family's journey into blueberry farming. Delicious reading." --Naomi Wolf, author of The End of America

The Blueberry Years is a mouth-watering and delightful memoir based on Jim Minick's trials and tribulations as an organic blueberry farmer. This story of one couple and one farm shows how our country's appetite for cheap food affects how that food is grown, who does or does not grow it, and what happens to the land. But this memoir also calls attention to the fragile nature of our global food system and our nation's ambivalence about what we eat and where it comes from.
Readers of Michael Polland and Barbara Kingsolver will savor the tale of Jim's farm and the exploration of larger issues facing agriculture in the United States--like the rise of organic farming, the plight of small farmers, and the loneliness common in rural America. Ultimately, The Blueberry Years tells the story of a place shaped by a young couple's dream, and how that dream ripened into one of the mid-Atlantic's first certified-organic, pick-your-own blueberry farms.

Review Quotes

"The Blueberry Years makes a quiet argument for working hard to find fulfillment, and Minick's recipes seem to want us to love blueberries as much as the author does...it's a sweet read." --The Oregonian

"Minick tells an unforgettable story all steeped in the bittersweet poignancy of chasing dreams and finally leaving some behind. This book is gorgeous and important and totally engaging." --Ann Pancake, author of Strange as the Weather Has Been

"Valuing health, family and the holiness of the Earth, Minick and his wife started one of the first certified organic blueberry farms in the mid-Atlantic region. Their story takes you through planting, growing, picking, pruning and harvesting as they do their part to improve our country's food system." --The Washington Examiner

"Jim Minick is one of those farmers we all can look up to. And he can write. As I read, I remembered my own blueberry afternoons picking for market. Savor Jim's prose, then go after the real thing. Take the kids to a blueberry patch and eat local food: it just tastes better." --Nina Planck, author of Real Food: What to Eat and Why

About the Author

JIM MINICK grew up eating blueberries, and for eight years he and his wife owned and operated Minick Berry Farm, a certified-organic, pick-your-own blueberry farm in Floyd County, VA. He writes a monthly column for The Roanoke Times New River Current. Currently, he lives in southwest Virginia on a forested farm with his wife and their three dogs.