Another Country: writings from Country Life
‘I don’t believe people who read books are more socially competent and personally effective, more self-reliant and trustworthy, more moral and kinder than people who read only Twitter, text and street signs. However, I reckon that reading gave me the nose and the instincts of a gun dog that follows the wild turkey across the swamp, and books gave me the desire to tell what happened to the turkey.’
The unmistakeable voice of Carla Carlisle rings out from the pages of 'Another Country', her third collection of columns from 'Country Life'. Over 320 pages, and in pieces as broad and eclectic as her life, she covers the years that began with Brexit, included Trump and Boris, a pandemic, the death of a Queen and the coronation of a King.
Carla’s 'Country Life' columns have a loyal following among those in her adopted country and in the mighty nation of her birth. Born on the banks of the Yazoo River in Greenwood, Mississippi, her childhood was divided between her maternal grandparents’ dairy farm in the red clay hills, and her paternal grandparents’ cotton plantation in the Mississippi Delta. She dreamed of a wider world, and lived in New York, Paris and London before marrying a farmer with 1,000 acres in Suffolk.
Over the past 37 years she has pushed to diversify the farm at Wyken by planting a vineyard, transforming an ancient barn into an award-winning vineyard restaurant, and opening a country store and bookshop. She has also found time to craft her regular columns for 'Country Life', writing with wit, frankness and occasional gloom about the countryside and the world beyond.
