Review by: Sharon Brunner
Liese Greensfelder’s Accidental Shepherd: How a California Girl Rescued an Ancient Mountain Farm in Norway tells a story about how a young courageous woman from California faced dangers and obstacles that she was not prepared to handle in a foreign country. It’s a story of remarkable resilience that took place from 1972 to 1973. A group of neighboring farming families welcomed the newcomer while she learned their stories and history. At the same time, she adapted to their dialect and traditional farming practices, rapidly vanishing traditions. Johannes, the farmer who hired her, ended up her nemesis. Greensfelder learned how to care for 115 sheep, two cows, one calf, a horse and a dog. She felt threatened when a heifer followed her around and knocked her down. She feared she would be kicked to death. A heifer is a young female cow who has not given birth. The heifer was in heat and took to Greensfelder to settle her unresolved urges. Some of the other obstacles she faced involved a flooded barn, grass harvesting, trial and error when herding the sheep to the mountain range for grazing and the lambing season.
Some of the themes that presented themselves throughout the book were: independence; compassion for animals; budding romance; appreciation for beautiful scenery; and hard work and perseverance. Greensfelder mentioned that running the farm was the first time she lived alone and she liked it. She could write and read when she wanted when not working. Concerning her compassion for animals, she felt the little calf was lonely and needed his mother. The calf would get petted by her and it appeared to be longing for any attention. She could not kill the fox who may have attacked one of the newborn lambs. Like a lot of Hallmark movies, when attractive people spend a lot of time together, they end up falling for one another. Greensfelder and Edvard spent a lot of time cleaning and repairing things around the farm, and they ended up regretfully saying goodbye after an intense embrace. Her appreciation for beautiful scenery was demonstrated when she enjoyed hiking with the dog to see the scenery of the mountains and fjords around the farmland she managed. Hard work and perseverance came to the light when Greensfelder prided herself when she learned how to handle difficult lamb births by herself and when she managed to milk the cow the way she was instructed.
The 2017 film “God’s Own Country” came to mind when I read this book. A young farmer, who picked up a drinking habit and other undesirable behaviors to deal with life, hired a Romanian woman migrant to help during the lambing season at a remote farm in England. She clashed with the difficult farmer who owned the land, and they eventually developed a complex relationship while she adapted to a demanding farm life. Greensfelder mentioned lambing a lot in her book and Johannes was also definitely problematic like the farmer in “God’s Own Country.” Lambing season usually lasts from February to April. It’s a time when sheep farmers provide care for ewes and lambs to ensure their survival during the birthing process. The book and movie “Cinderella” also reminded me of this book. Cinderella works very hard, but she is mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters. Greensfelderput her heart and soul into running Johannes’ farm and ended up being mistreated at the end of the long year she worked for Johannes.
Personally, I can relate to this book in several ways. First of all, I visited my grandparents’ farm every summer when I was a little girl. I watched my grandmother milk a cow and feed the pigs. My grandfather had a day job and my grandmother ran the farm. Her work seemed endless but she still found time to make cinnamon rolls. I was also reminded of an interview I conducted for my masters’ thesis covering Indian Boarding Schools. The woman I interviewed told me about how her family and their neighbors would make sure everybody had enough to eat, and other needs were met. For example, if Sam’s family had car trouble and could not put food on the table their neighbors would give them food. Wouldn’t it be nice if that happened today? I explored another culture when I visited France and I did not know the language. When I conducted a foreign study in Ireland, sometimes I found it difficult to understand some of the Irish people, especially if they spoke with a heavy brogue accent. Greensfeldermentioned how she had difficulty understanding some of the people who lived in Norway. One of the people I worked with at the agency I was assigned to told me that when they visit the U.S., we all sound the same to them, even in the deep South or North. I was stationed in Galway, and they could tell when someone was from the north. That was not a good thing according to her.
I liked how the neighbors all looked out for Greensfelderand provided instruction to her on how to run a sheep farm. They were a friendly lot, inviting her to dinner at their home and offering her wine from their wine cellar. One of her neighbors helped her learn how to milk the cow. She came over twice a day and visited unexpectedly now and again at different times to check on things. The neighbor acted on a feeling like something was wrong like the time the ewe was stressed over the loss of her lamb. Greensfelderexplained the intricacies of learning a new language and what she learned about her neighbors’ culture. For example, it is a requirement to feed any guests when they stop by. I liked how each chapter presented a challenge for Greensfelderto handle from the lambing season to a disgruntled boss. I learned so much about the Norwegian culture and traditional practices involved in the running of a sheep farm. The scenery she described sounded absolutely breathtaking. The garden Johannes demanded Greensfelder weed and care for sounded captivating with all the exotic plants but also extremely tedious. How would you know a weed from a plant if you did not know the foliage? For some reason, the garden provided solace for Johannes.
I recommend Accidental Shepherd for its endearing moments of friendships and camaraderie, because of its great attention to detail about the running of a sheep farm, the embracement of the role Greensfeldertook on and her uncanny deductions, and tense moments that arose when dealing with a cantankerous employer. She handled Johannes very well throughout her time at the farm and visited him when he was at the nursing home. As hard as the work was for her, she claimed to love the farm and continued to have a lot of compassion for the animals. Greensfelder had a goal in mind, to learn about farming, and did not want to settle with narrowing her focus to only picking produce. The perceivable daunting task of running the sheep farm on her own did not deter her. Much could be learned from Greensfelder’s tenacity when she tackled her role as the sole manager of the sheep farm.
Title: Accidental Shepherd: How a California Girl Rescued an Ancient Mountain Farm in Norway
Author: Liese Greensfelder
