Friend Visiting River City Books December 11, 2006

Catherine Friend, author of "Hit by a Farm: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Barn," will appear at 7 p.m., Monday, Dec. 11, at River City Books for a reading and book signing.

Farming had never been Friend’s ambition; her fantasies ran more along the lines of nurturing her career as a children’s book writer. But when this self-confessed urban bookworm’s partner of 12 years, Melissa, decided she wanted to fulfill a lifelong dream of owning a farm, Catherine was talked into buying 53 worn-out acres in Minnesota. What ensues is a crash course in both living off and with the land that ultimately allows Catherine to help Melissa reach her goal while not losing sight of her own.

"Hit by a Farm" is a hilarious recounting of Catherine and Melissa’s trials of "getting back to the land." It is also a coming-of (middle)-age story of a woman trying to cross the divide between who she is and who she wants to be, and the story of a couple who say "goodbye city life" — and learn more than they ever bargained for about love, land, and the strange things that happen when one takes daily care of animals.

"Hit by a Farm: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Barn," regularly $14.95 in paperback, is on sale at River City Books for 15 percent off through the day of the event.

River City Books is located at 306 Division Street in downtown Northfield.

Information: 507-646-7754

Official Website: http://rivercity.booksense.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?s=storeevents&eventId=333956