When I got to the end of this book I cried. I was expecting a sort of funny little story about a divorced women and her kid who got chickens as a way of getting through the divorce and move and all. I wasn't expecting a book that would have meaning. ( )

3.5 stars... quick, charming - she would've been annoying if the book were any longer though as I didn't really empathize with most of her eccentricities ( )

A wry memoir of a woman starting over in midlife. Soon after her separation, she realizes that she can no longer afford to live in the affluent suburbs. She purchases some chicks and she moves her daughter, her home to a ramshackle house near the sea.

I usually don't read memoirs, but a friend recommended this and I'm glad she did. ( )

Reading this after "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver was NOT the way to go. A very light book. She's a poet, so occasionally there were nice passages, but I really felt there was no depth to her story - a year of angst and moving house. Hey, we've all had that. But we don't necessarily feel the urge to write a book about it. And sometimes she portrayed herself as so ditzy, that, at times, I was just really annoyed. ( )

"Still Life with Chickens" is a cleverly crafted memoir in which the author recounts her first year following an amicable divorce. In her new, post-marriage life Catherine Goldhammer is suddenly several tax brackets poorer and must make difficult decisions: new house, new job, new lifestyle. With a strong-willed, pre-teen daughter in tow, Goldhammer embarks on this new life with as much pluck as she can muster. And, in an attempt to placate her daughter, Goldhammer adds one extra role to this challenging new life: urban chicken farmer.

Goldhammer is a gifted writer and her story unfolds with a fair mixture of chuckles and tears. A "how-to" on urban chicken ownership, replete with failures, re-tries, and successes. Goldhammer is an idealistic pragmatist, and this is not a touchy-feely memoir. I'd recommend to anyone. ( )