"Flat Broke with Two Goats" by Jennifer McGaha

Flat Broke with Two Goats by Jennifer McGaha
Call Number: BIOGRAPHY McGAHA
When life gets your goat, bring in the herd Jennifer McGaha never expected to own a goat named Merle. Or to be setting Merle up on dates and naming his doeling Merlene. She didn't expect to be buying organic yogurt for her chickens. She never thought she would be pulling camouflage carpet off her ceiling or rescuing opossums from her barn and calling it "date night." Most importantly, Jennifer never thought she would only have $4.57 in her bank account. When Jennifer discovered that she and her husband owed back taxes-a lot of back taxes-her world changed. Now desperate to save money, they foreclosed on their beloved suburban home and moved their family to a one-hundred-year-old cabin in a North Carolina holler. Soon enough, Jennifer's life began to more closely resemble her Appalachian ancestors than her upper-middle-class upbringing. But what started as a last-ditch effort to settle debts became a journey that revealed both the joys and challenges of living close to the land. Told with bold wit, unflinching honesty, and a firm foot in the traditions of Appalachia, Flat Broke with Two Goats blends stories of homesteading with the journey of two people rediscovering the true meaning of home.

Adversity and Resilience:
- How does Jennifer McGaha navigate the challenges of financial hardship, including losing her home and facing foreclosure? What strategies does she employ to cope with adversity, and what role does resilience play in her journey?
Identity and Lifestyle Changes:
- Discuss the theme of identity transformation in the book. How does McGaha's perception of herself and her lifestyle evolve as she transitions from a comfortable middle-class existence to a more frugal and self-sufficient way of life?
Relationships and Support Systems:
- Explore the dynamics of McGaha's relationships with her husband, children, and extended family throughout their financial struggles. How do these relationships contribute to (or hinder) their ability to cope with challenges and adapt to their changing circumstances?
Nature and Sustainability:
- Consider the significance of the Appalachian landscape and McGaha's connection to nature in the memoir. How does her newfound appreciation for the natural world influence her lifestyle choices and priorities?
Financial Literacy and Personal Finance:
- Reflect on the financial lessons learned by McGaha and her family throughout their journey. What insights does the book offer about personal finance, budgeting, and living within one's means?
Humor and Coping Mechanisms:
- Discuss the role of humor as a coping mechanism in the face of adversity. How does McGaha use humor to navigate difficult situations and find moments of levity amidst the challenges of financial hardship?
Social Class and Privilege:
- Analyze the book's exploration of social class and privilege, particularly in the context of McGaha's experiences as a formerly middle-class individual facing economic hardship. How does her perspective on privilege change throughout the memoir?
Self-Discovery and Personal Growth:
- Explore the theme of self-discovery and personal growth in the memoir. In what ways does McGaha's journey of financial struggle lead to deeper insights about herself, her values, and her priorities in life?
Sustainability and Environmentalism:
- Consider the book's portrayal of sustainable living practices and environmentalism. How does McGaha's experience align with broader discussions about sustainability, self-sufficiency, and living in harmony with the natural world?
Community and Support Networks:
- Reflect on the importance of community and support networks in McGaha's journey. How do relationships with neighbors, friends, and fellow homesteaders contribute to her family's resilience and ability to overcome challenges?

In "Flat Broke with Two Goats," Jennifer McGaha shares her personal story of financial struggle and resilience as she and her family faced foreclosure and had to downsize to a more self-sufficient lifestyle. The memoir chronicles their journey from financial ruin to a simpler way of life, including raising goats and embracing a more sustainable existence in the Appalachian region.

While specific biographical details may not be widely available, it's known that McGaha is an author and educator based in North Carolina. Her experiences as recounted in her memoir have resonated with readers who appreciate her candid storytelling and insights into navigating adversity and finding meaning in challenging circumstances.

If you're interested in learning more about Jennifer McGaha, I recommend exploring interviews, articles, and any additional writings or public appearances she may have made since the publication of "Flat Broke with Two Goats." These sources may provide more context about her background, interests, and experiences beyond what is covered in the memoir.

Cheap Land Colorado by Ted Conover
Call Number: 304.209 Conover
In May 2017, Ted Conover went to Colorado to explore firsthand a rural way of life that is about living cheaply, on your own land--and keeping clear of the mainstream. The failed subdivisions of the enormous San Luis Valley make this possible. Five-acre lots on the high prairie can be had for five thousand dollars, sometimes less. Conover volunteered for a local group trying to prevent homelessness during the bitter winters. He encountered an unexpected diversity: veterans with PTSD, families homeschooling, addicts young and old, gay people, people of color, lovers of guns and marijuana, people with social anxiety--most of them spurning charity and aiming, and sometimes failing, to be self-sufficient. And more than a few predicting they'll be the last ones standing when society collapses. Conover bought his own five acres and immersed himself for parts of four years in the often contentious culture of the far margins. He found many who dislike the government but depend on its subsidies; who love their space but nevertheless find themselves in each other's business; who are generous but wary of thieves; who endure squalor but appreciate beauty. In their struggles to survive and get along, they tell us about an America riven by difference where the edges speak more and more loudly to the mainstream.
Going over Home by Charles Thompson
Call Number: 338.1 Thompson
An intimate portrait of the joys and hardships of rural life, as one man searches for community, equality, and tradition in Appalachia. Charles D. Thompson, Jr. was born in southwestern Virginia into an extended family of small farmers. Yet as he came of age he witnessed the demise of every farm in his family. Over the course of his own life of farming, rural education, organizing, and activism, the stories of his home place have been his constant inspiration, helping him identify with the losses of others and to fight against injustices. In Going Over Home, Thompson shares revelations and reflections, from cattle auctions with his grandfather to community gardens in the coal camps of eastern Kentucky, racial disparities of white and Black landownership in the South to recent work with migrant farm workers from Latin America. In this heartfelt first-person narrative, Thompson unpacks our country's agricultural myths and addresses the history of racism and wealth inequality and how they have come to bear on our nation's rural places and their people.
A Bold Return to Giving a Damn by Will Harris
Call Number: 338.1068 Harris
From a pioneer of the regenerative agriculture movement, a memoir-meets-manifesto on betting the farm on a better future for our food, animals, land, local communities, and our climate. Featured in Food and Country, premiering at Sundance 2023. 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. Armed with tenacity, conviction and an outsized tolerance for risk, Harris called his approach "radical traditional" and it made him the pioneer of regenerative agriculture long before the phrase existed. At once an intimate, multi-generational memoir and a microcosm of American agriculture at large, A BOLD RETURN TO GIVING A DAMN offers a pathway back to producing food the right way. At a time when food supply chains are straining, climate-induced catastrophes are playing havoc with harvests, and concern around who owns America's farmland are more prescient than ever, Will Harris urges us to consider where the food we eat really comes from, and to re-connect to the places and people who raise what we eat each day. With keen storytelling, a good dose of irreverence, and an unflinching willingness to speak truth to power, Harris shows us why it's never been more important to know your farmer than now.
The Rural Diaries by Hilarie Burton
Call Number: 791.4309 Morgan
The beloved actress and star of One Tree Hill, White Collar, and Lethal Weapon, Hilarie Burton Morgan, tells the story of leaving Hollywood for a radically different kind of life in upstate New York with her husband Jeffrey Dean Morgan--a celebration of community, family, and the value of hard work in small town America. While Hilarie Burton Morgan's hectic lifestyle as an actress in New York and Los Angeles gave her a comfortable life, it did not fulfill her spiritually or emotionally. After the birth of their first son, she and her husband Jeffrey Dean Morgan, the star of The Walking Dead, decided to make a major change: they bought a working farm in Rhinebeck, New York, and began a new chapter in their lives.
Hill Women by Cassie Chambers
Call Number: BIOGRAPHY CHAMBERS
Nestled in the Appalachian mountains, Owsley County is one of the poorest counties in both Kentucky and the country. Buildings are crumbling and fields sit vacant, as tobacco farming and coal mining decline. But strong women are finding creative ways to subsist in their hollers in the hills. Cassie Chambers grew up in these hollers and, through the women who raised her, she traces her own path out of and back into the Kentucky mountains. Chambers's Granny was a child bride who rose before dawn every morning to raise seven children. Despite her poverty, she wouldn't hesitate to give the last bite of pie or vegetables from her garden to a struggling neighbor. Her two daughters took very different paths: strong-willed Ruth--the hardest-working tobacco farmer in the county--stayed on the family farm, while spirited Wilma--the sixth child--became the first in the family to graduate from high school, then moved an hour away for college. Married at nineteen and pregnant with Cassie a few months later, Wilma beat the odds to finish school. She raised her daughter to think she could move mountains, like the ones that kept her safe but also isolated her from the larger world. Cassie would spend much of her childhood with Granny and Ruth in the hills of Owsley County, both while Wilma was in college and after. With her "hill women" values guiding her, Cassie went on to graduate from Harvard Law. But while the Ivy League gave her knowledge and opportunities, its privileged world felt far from her reality, and she moved back home to help her fellow rural Kentucky women by providing free legal services. Appalachian women face issues that are all too common: domestic violence, the opioid crisis, a world that seems more divided by the day. But they are also community leaders, keeping their towns together in the face of a system that continually fails them. With nuance and heart, Chambers uses these women's stories paired with her own journey to break down the myth of the hillbilly and illuminate a region whose poor communities, especially women, can lead it into the future.

Islington Branch Book Club - Past Titles: "Flat Broke with Two Goats" by Jennifer McGaha

"Flat Broke with Two Goats" by Jennifer McGaha

QUICK LINKS

CONNECT WITH US

Westwood Public Library

Main Library

Islington Branch