“This wonderful piece of writing impressed me with the author’s way with words, her quiet tone, and her humility. Never for a moment does Faulkner try to be one of the conspicuously literary memoir writers who are everywhere these days, yet her writing is high-quality and her story, while not dramatic, is wonderful and interesting. Born to a single mother in small-town Montana, Janie didn’t have a lot of friends but was nonetheless happy with Mom and Grandma. Then her mother married, and Janie and Mom went to live with Dad (she adopted him right away) on his farm. Faulkner tells with joy of each new baby, her beloved pets, the nasty rooster, her one-room schoolhouse days and all the everyday things that befall her dear farm family. The story is quietly uplifting but never cloying. There are hard times, but Faulkner doesn’t have a victim card in her wallet. Her beautiful phrases are right on, like a description of melting end-of-winter snow looking like ‘charcoal lace.’ “—Amanda, Paulina Springs Books, with locations in Redmond and Sisters, OR