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First-time author Mary Conway Sullivan didn’t plan on owning a farm, starting a blog or writing a book, What the Farm: Poignant & Profane Stories from My Unplanned Life.

“It all started several years ago. I had just sent my oldest daughter to college, buried my mother after helping her through years of living with Alzheimer’s Disease and put down our beloved dog,” recalls the author. “I was catching my breath, ready to pull in my focus. I was trying to figure out what I wanted for myself. Who would I be in this new stage of life?”

But meanwhile, Sullivan’s husband, Sean, had been looking for a farm for years. After one-too-many ugly farm tours, she had a serious talk with him: "Sweetheart, I get it that you want a connection to the land. But ... All I see in your dream is work for ME. I don't know anything about farming. Neither do you, by the way. I wish you and your future Amish wife a very happy life together.” She was very proud of her fortitude.

And then the update: they have a farm. And, it turns out that Sullivan loves it.

She began writing and sharing essays about her experiences in a blog, What the Farm. Her new book is an outgrowth of all of that. “I’ve always loved the essay form,” she says. “I started writing and sharing my thoughts and stories and they seemed to resonate with folks.”

Topics in the book vary from serious to simple. “I write on lessons learned from country life and life itself. With chapters titled “Amish Guys Got Swagger” and “Ink at the Clink” (where I found myself at a tattoo convention in an abandoned prison), my stories run the gamut … they are funny, poignant and profane,” Sullivan explains. “The book is like sitting down with a glass of wine or a cup of tea and chatting, laughing, crying with a really good friend.”

What do readers think? “Sullivan writes with both humor and heart,” said Patricia Heaton, Emmy Award-winning actress and author. “She welcomes the reader to her farming adventures with thoroughly entertaining prose. An easy, enjoyable read!"

When asked how she would explain her writing style, Sullivan said, “I like to describe my writing voice as if David Sederas and Erma Bombeck had a baby ... on a farm … That's me.”