I'm so glad I read this book. It made me laugh out loud (a lot) and almost brought me to tears at times. Most importantly though it took me back home to life on my grandparents' farm and the love that our family shared there while we learned life lessons we didn't know we were learning. The way the author told the story made me feel like I was right there beside him running through the woods as a child in small town Ohio or on the battlefields of Iraq. He paints a picture with his words and is a true artist! I'm a total fan!
Humorous yet touching observation from a young man's perspective on life and family. Great read!
I'm so glad I read this book. It made me laugh out loud (a lot) and almost brought me to tears at times. Most importantly though it took me back home to life on my grandparents' farm and the love that our family shared there while we learned life lessons we didn't know we were learning. The way the author told the story made me feel like I was right there beside him running through the woods as a child in small town Ohio or on the battlefields of Iraq. He paints a picture with his words and is a true artist! I'm a total fan!
This book was a fun read. I enjoyed how the writer told of his lessons learned and experiences gained. Life Lessons from Grandpa and his Chicken Coop actually made me reflect back on some of my lessons learned and experiences with my own family. I recommend this book for readers of all ages and am looking forward to more books from this writer.
I felt like I was with the author on every page. I laughed, cried and remembered my own childhood and life lessons. Great author! Ready for what's next!
Good read and especially descriptive of life growing up with his grandparents and family ties!
Great read!!! Didn't want to put it down! I highly recommend this book. Looking forward to more from Jacob Paul Patchen!
An absolute must read! This book can take you from laughing to fighting tears in the matter of minutes! It can remind you of your childhood and your journey throughout parenthood! It gives reassurance that the little things in life can leave a lastin memory!
This authors ability to tell a story, in such great detail makes me feel like I was apart of that childhood, right beside him in that chicken coop. He always brings us right back to the life lessons we need to remember, in good times and in bad.
These are life lessons we all should live by. Keeping digging through the s*** that life throws at you and move on.
Recommend for everyone.
This was hilarious! Why didn't I have a grandfather like this? Mind you - I love my grandparents, but they were the very strict and severe type. Cussing? Absolutely not! Saying the word fart would land me in a pickle. But this grandfather is cut from a wholly different cloth. He's crass and REAL. He tells it like it is with no funny business. No, actually, there's a lot of funny business! I couldn't stop laughing! I wanted to meet this guy and shake his hand.
I loved this book!!! The writer is a perfect story teller of the life living in the country near Grandpa and Grandma. How "family" is what life is all about. As I read the story, I laughed at how ornery he was, with a great imagination. A fun kid to be around. He made me laugh so hard. He made me see ( by his written words) exactly what was happening as he told his story. Oh how this book had me remembering my childhood in the country with my Grandparents living across the road. And raising a son with a loving heart, a big imagination and as ornery as a boy could be without getting into too much trouble. Thank you so much for this heart warming story!!!
Life Lessons from Grandpa and His Chicken Coop by Jacob Patchen is a hilarious memoir that kept me laughing and interested until the very last page.
When Jacob was young, his grandfather had a chicken coop and Jacob would assist his grandfather with the care, feeding and nurturing of the chickens. From collecting chicken eggs and being scared of getting pecked to trying to outrun and hide from a "devil" rooster to standing toe-to-toe with the same evil rooster, the stories in this collection were laugh-out-loud funny and ones that could also teach a lesson to young and old alike.
The way that the author wove lessons into each story about life in general via chicken-keeping resonated quite loudly to me. I had my first chicken coop and 28 Cochin Bantam chickens at the young age of forty-four (not a spring chicken) and have been keeping chickens along with turkeys, ducks, cows and pigs for the better part of the last six years. I love the farming lifestyle and Mr. Patchen's stories of being raised around chickens and the lessons he learned from them are a sweet reminder to me of what country living is all about.
If you want a heartwarming and humorous memoir to read, this one definitely fits the bill. Looking forward to reading more from this very talented author.
Full-disclosure: I received a copy if the book in exchange for an honest review.
Riveting, hilarious, thought provoking, inspiring and heart wrenching.
*And it just might make you homesick*
From the opening of the book, I was hooked. I was captivated and couldn't put the book down; I wanted to find out just how much a chicken coop could teach. (Well, and see what other troubles the author could get himself into) I felt like the fly on the wall to the adventures of a mischievous boy; yet sitting here now finished with the book, I've somehow managed to gain all this insight from a chicken coop that I never imagined I would in my life, and I love it!
The author does an excellent job of painting the picture and drawing you into the scene as if you were experiencing it all in real time. Several times my kids came in to check on me to see what the heck I was laughing at.
It's real, the book puts country life lessons out as real as they come. I laughed, I nodded, I even cried. It hits home and will leave a person looking back on their own lives after reading it. We might not all have had chickens, but the author put all the lessons learned out perfectly to show that we all had a chicken coop. We all have had a *spoiler alert* white feathered devil to kick down and sh*t to shovel.
I finished the book with tears, We all need to be reminded that having morning company, photos of childhood mishaps and some of the chores we loathed as kids, are some of the biggest blessings and lessons we've been given in life.
I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a snap back to reality, a bit of hope, a bit of laughter or anyone, for that matter, that has hit a point in their life that needs reminded that it's all part of the bigger picture.
I'd also recommend adding this author to a list of ones to watch.
I thoroughly enjoyed this little book. It's a quick, fun read that reminds us of the important things in life. If anyone needs a quick pick-me-up or just wants an inspiring read I highly recommend.
The only thing that began bugging me, and perhaps I'm a PITA, but you beat the word "ornery" to death. I started to cringe every
time it appeared (which seemed like each page). Maybe there's thesaurus around Grandpa's house? Teasing.
All in all a great read which I recommend. Enjoy a few pops with Grandpa!
Life Lessons from Grandpa and His Chicken Coop by Jacob Patchen is a hilarious memoir that kept me laughing and interested until the very last page.
When Jacob was young, his grandfather had a chicken coop and Jacob would assist his grandfather with the care, feeding and nurturing of the chickens. From collecting chicken eggs and being scared of getting pecked to trying to outrun and hide from a "devil" rooster to standing toe-to-toe with the same evil rooster, the stories in this collection were laugh-out-loud funny and ones that could also teach a lesson to young and old alike.
The way that the author wove lessons into each story about life in general via chicken-keeping resonated quite loudly to me. I had my first chicken coop and 28 Cochin Bantam chickens at the young age of forty-four (not a spring chicken) and have been keeping chickens along with turkeys, ducks, cows and pigs for the better part of the last six years. I love the farming lifestyle and Mr. Patchen's stories of being raised around chickens and the lessons he learned from them are a sweet reminder to me of what country living is all about.
If you want a heartwarming and humorous memoir to read, this one definitely fits the bill.
Excellent Read! I'm so glad I read this book. It made me laugh out loud (a lot) and almost brought me to tears at times. Most importantly though it took me back home to life on my grandparents' farm and the love that our family shared there while we learned life lessons we didn't know we were learning. The way the author told the story made me feel like I was right there beside him running through the woods as a child in small town Ohio or on the battlefields of Iraq. He paints a picture with his words and is a true artist! I'm a total fan!
Subtitled 'A Playful Journey through some Serious Sh*t' (asterix the author's) this is a humourous look at growing up in a normal family where Grandpa happens to keep chickens.
We start with a young Jacob, preparing to play army in the woods,
'..for those who have never had the pleasure of playing army with me in the woods, let it be known that I am pretty much invincible. Matter of fact, I am invincible. I have just too many force fields, extra lives and magic sticks.'
We find him smearing what he thinks is camo paint onto his face and hands only to find out it's actually his mother's cleansing mask. She then captures the moment on camera and sticks the picture on the fridge so he never forgets.
From here we follow Jacob through his early life, full of traditions and love, as he grows up. focussing on the importance of his grandfather Charlie's chicken coop and his chickens, who were free range during the day.
With dramatic descriptions of collecting eggs, the evening herding of the chickens from their roost trees to the coop, protecting the chickens from predators and cleaning out the coop, the book offers an entertaining account of looking after chickens, and the life lessons to be learned from this.
Along the way the book also touches on aspects of rural living including responsible gun ownership and sustainable rabbit hunting
'We killed only what we would eat, we did not waste, we killed quickly and humanely, and although the thrill of the hunt was definitely there, we all still experienced a respected sadness in the taking of an animal's life.'
but most importantly it describes one extended family's philosophy of helping each other and always being there for the people they love.
Well worth reading
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The story takes the reader on a journey through life, that I could personally identify with. It is a story of family, and the importance of those close to us. How we learn and become the people we are due to influences and situations we encounter throughout our lifetime. A wonderful read that made me smile and remember childhood with sentiment and emotion.
It is very obvious that Jacob Paul Patchen loves his grandparents. His book Life Lessons from Grandpa and His Chicken Coop: A Playful Journey Through Some Serious Sh*t focuses on the life lessons that Patchen’s grandpa taught him around the chicken coop that was on his grandpa’s property in Guernsey County, Ohio. The love from these lessons flows through the pages and it is hard to not feel it.
I first want to say that I wish I had grandparents like Patchen’s because they sound like amazing people. Life Lessons from Grandpa and His Chicken Coop is filled with short stories of the things that Patchen’s grandpa taught him. Each story is told with humor and honesty. I loved how Patchen’s grandpa taught him things by forcing him do them himself instead of the easy way and doing it for him. An example of this is when they were gathering eggs. Gathering eggs from protective hens is no easy task. In chapter eight Patchen writes that the greatest lesson that he learned from his grandpa was compassion. I too believe that this is the greatest lesson one can learn. Compassion is something I believe more people should learn because not enough people have it.
I enjoyed reading Life Lessons from Grandpa and His Chicken Coop. Patchen’s book is funny at times but it also teaches the reader a lesson. Love and take care of your family while you have them. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read short stories that contain a good lesson.
*I reviewed this book for Reader's Favorite
Come met Jacob Paul Patchen at Muskingum University on Feb. 18th, 2016 at 3:30 in the Colloquium Room of the new Library. Jacob will be discussing and reading from his Debut book, Life Lessons From Grandpa And His Chicken Coop: A Playful Journey Through Some Serious Sh*t, as well as, reading a few select poems from his collection, Of Love And War.
