You Can Go Home Again by Gene Logsdon

Somewhat an autobiography, this book tells less of the tale of the author himself, and more of the happenings of the places he lived in. While it has some information, this is definitely not a how-to book.

Logsdon takes us to the later years of his childhood, where he is preparing for the priesthood. While he loves to write, farming calls out to him. However, he is slated to be one of the better scholars of the church and is pushed in that direction. That all changes when he has a chance to work on a farm in the service and discovers just what is missing from his life.

The next part details the early years of his marriage and his time spent writing for a farm magazine. While he enjoys the writing, the subjects do not always please him and he finds himself leaning to the smaller publications that cover Organic Farming and sustainable ways to use the land. He also discovers that he enjoys writing books as well.

With the success of some of his books he is able to return "home" and buy some land for a farm. The latter half of the book is located on or near this farm and he outlines greatly the life over the last century in the small towns around the area. He remembers fondly the good times and laments that the towns are slowly dieing now, being replaced by bigger cities.

Logson's writing is wonderful. It has a sense of humor and is greatly descriptive. While he tends to go on quite a bit on certain subjects its like listening to someone tell a story. You may have heard it a thousand times and groan outwardly, but inside you're always excited for the telling. The only part of the book I couldn't really get into was the softball chapter. While its great the community would come together for it, I just tired of reading it after it went on several pages.

You Can Go Home Again
Copyright 1998
204 pages