The Birdhouse Chronicles: Surviving the Joys of Country Life

Weary of urban life, essayist Cathleen Miller (Desert Flower) and her husband abandon San Francisco for an old house in rural Pennsylvania. In The Birdhouse Chronicles: Surviving the Joys of Country Life, Miller recounts the ensuing challenges, from keeping the wood-and-coal furnace stoked on frigid mornings, to burying the previous owner's shag carpeting, to staring down a wild mink. The move also dredges up memories of her childhood in small-town Missouri and her mother's suicide at 33, possibly triggered by the family's move from the country into town. Miller's musings are on the earnest side, but packed with vivid, textured details of country exile.