Publication Date: January 9, 2024
The story of a single mom’s pursuit of a dream to start an alpaca farm in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina.
At thirty-seven, Jane Lee Rankin receives news that upends her life: she’s pregnant. Lee is a cancer survivor eighteen months in remission. Her boyfriend won’t commit, and her father is unsupportive. When she decides to raise the baby by herself, Lee feels the scornful glances and judgmental whispers of her conservative hometown.
Armed only with a dream and a toddler, Lee marches into Banner Elk, North Carolina, a place where she knows no one, to start an alpaca farm. As a novice first-generation farmer, Lee faces nature’s most potent setbacks, from disastrous weather events to attacks from predators. And yet, she forges on. With vivid storytelling, Farm Family features a cast of memorable animal characters-including alpacas, Millie, Celeste, Frosty, and Wildcard-and immerses readers into the not-always-pretty world of farming. At Apple Hill Farm, Lee trades fear for freedom. She trades disdain for dignity. She learns that her connection to animals is more vital than she knew, and with bravery and persistence, she creates a home-a farm family.
Sometimes, the future you mapped out for your life is vastly different from reality. Take Jane Lee Rankin as an example.
In her memoir, Farm Family, Jane takes readers into a first-person account full of twists and turns that she handles with tenacity and resilience. With her cancer in remission, she finds herself as a pregnant older woman struggling to find her place amid challenging relationships.
Rather than caving to pressure, Jane packs up her toddler son and moves to a farm in North Carolina, where she plans to raise alpacas. That plan might sound fairly normal, but she doesn’t know anyone in the area and has zero experience with alpaca farming.
What follows is the story of a woman who is determined to create a childhood of happy memories for her son, something she missed out on with an alcoholic mother. Rather than moping about what she doesn’t have, Jane builds her own support network, full of people—and animals—she selects.
Her challenges unfold along with some humorous scenarios, which typically accompany animal characters. Jane’s character evolves through the story and becomes much stronger as she works through her fears.
Farm Family delivers a story of hope told by a woman determined to chart her own course for happiness.
Jane Lee Rankin is a farmer and founder of Apple Hill Farm, an award-winning first-generation farm in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. She is an advocate for farmers through her leadership and involvement in the North Carolina Agritourism Networking Association, Watauga County Farm Bureau, the Watauga County Economic Development Commission, the Watauga County Agricultural Extension, and local chamber of commerce. She frequently speaks about farm tourism and the benefits of diversifying your farm portfolio at conferences locally and nationally.
Apple Hill Farm is an agritourism destination for thousands every year who tour, shop, and learn about raising a farm family of animals. With a wide selection of fair trade and American-sourced yarns, socks, and apparel items made from alpaca wool, the Apple Hill Farm Store participates in six yearly craft or fiber shows across North Carolina. The farm and store are open year-round for shopping and tours. Since 2010 more than ninety thousand visitors have come to tour the farm and hear Lee’s story. In 2021, Lee won runner-up for North Carolina Small Farmer of the Year.
Lee is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and her first book, Cookin’ Up a Storm: The Recipes of Annie Johnson, is a culinary memoir and tribute to her dear friend and mentor.
