This is one of the best and most unusual memoirs I’ve ever read. This is written by a very articulate sheepherder in the Lake District. His life is so different, and therefore richly fascinating, living in a gorgeous place, doing humble work close to the land.

This follows his trajectory from a troublemaker to an author and a force in the global sustainability movement, all while tending his herd with loving care. He is part of a legacy left by the many generations that went before him, and is working to hand this down to those that come next.

We like this man, his focus on those in his care, and his wife, who believed in him and helped turn his life around. There is somehow reassuring about the fact that he’s out there, steady and earnestly matter-of-fact.

I listened to this, and the story was improved by the accent of northern England. When photographing the hard copy of The Shepherd’s Life for this post in a bookshop in the Lake District, the bookseller there knew them and knew the schoolteacher that was pivotal in his life. He has other books now, and his wife even has one (which I bought: The Farmer’s Wife), so I’ll be reading more.

This book is a contender for my best book of the year. If you are not a major fan of the rat race, and dearly love the land, this may delight you as much as it did me. I give it a hearty five stars.