Napanee author broadens her focus in second book about life on the farm

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With her second book, Napanee author Grace Vanderzande wanted to give readers a more comprehensive insight into life as a farmer.

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“Nobody tells the truth about farming,” she said. “There’s a lot more to farming than just all the good things.”

Vanderzande’s first compilation of blog posts and columns, titled “Unbuttoned: Our Life as a Farmer in Southeastern Ontario,” features short pieces that focus on the quirky side of working the land for 45 years alongside her husband, whom she calls “my hero” in her books.

Her new book, Buttons Thoughts: Farm, Family and Folks, offers light-hearted stories as well as details about the daily struggles and stresses of running a farm.

“I wanted to look into (farming’s) mental health,” said Vanderzande, who was nicknamed “Buttons” as a child. “I think people should know about it. If nobody talks about it, it doesn’t help anyone in the long run.”

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For one thing, Vanderzande said she often “felt so alone” working 14-hour days while raising her children because her husband worked construction during the day and worked full-time. Then there’s the stress of circumstances beyond the farmer’s control, such as the impact of rainy weather on the quality of the hay.

In fact, her blog was her way of relieving some of that stress.

“I started blogging and soon I was able to sleep through the night because I was sharing all my thoughts and my problems with the world,” said Vanderzande, who also had trouble sleeping at night due to her fibromyalgia.

Her conversational blog posts resonated with readers and fellow bloggers, including those as far away as Tasmania. It wasn’t long before she had gained “quite a following,” she said.

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“We have all been through the same thing and they come from all over the world,” she said.

“It showed me that you are never alone with your problems. Someone else is always going through the same thing.”

Eventually she stopped blogging and concentrated on writing newspaper columns, first for the former Napanee Guide and now for the Kingston Whig-Standard.

Because she had “literally thousands” of stories to choose from, each less than 1,000 words long, she decided to organize the more than 80 stories in the new book by season rather than chronologically.

“On the farm, there are calvings and haymaking – so it was easier for me to portray these stories this way because farmers think in seasons,” she said.

While her stories focus on farm life, she also tackles heavier topics like dementia. Still, she tries to focus on the “little things,” like staring at a hawk on a fence and wondering if it’s doing the same to you.

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“You just have to pick out those little things and make them your own,” Vanderzande said. “That’s been my philosophy since I first wrote these books. I had to find my joy somewhere.”

She has sometimes thought about writing just for herself, “but so many people say it makes them happy,” she said.

“They read the columns in the newspaper and that makes them happy. I want people to hear the stories. It just feels like it’s my destiny.”

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Who: Author Grace Vanderzande signs copies of her new book, Buttons Thoughts: Farm, Family and Folks.

When and where: Wednesday, July 24, from 2 to 4 p.m. at L&A Mutual Insurance Co., 76 East St., Napanee ($5 from every $25 sale goes to Morningstar Mission); and Saturday, July 27, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at Books on Main, 368 Main St., Bath.

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