About the Author

Jeanne Marie Laskas is a columnist for The Washington Post Magazine, where her "Significant Others" essays appear weekly. A contributing writer at Esquire, she also writes for numerous national magazines.

Reviews

“Hilarious . . . [A] delightful memoir about love and relocation.”—Newsday

“[A] refreshing and funny account of a move to the country . . . The touching story of a woman finding herself and trusting love.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 
“Rarely has a city girl transformed herself into a country goddess with such humor.”—Rita Mae Brown

“Jeanne Marie Laskas is a wonderful writer, smart as they come, and a real joy to read.”—Annie Dillard

“A terrifically funny, honest look at one woman’s attempt to chuck her city life and take up life on the farm. With Anne Lamott–style humor, Laskas lets us know . . . how worthwhile all of her missteps and headaches have been. A charmer of a book, sure to cure any city girl’s concrete blues.”—Linda Urban, Contentville

“Jeanne Marie Laskas is a formidable reporter and one damn fine writer. Check out her charming memoir about buying a farm in the country.”—Esquire

“A winning journey of the heart and psyche . . . There are laughs aplenty. Laskas creates an intimacy with readers.”—The Philadelphia Weekly

“Anyone who’s toyed with the idea of moving to the country should read Fifty Acres. It’s stunning, witty, sly—a wonderful surprise.”—Katherine Russell Rich, author of The Red Devil

“This beautiful memoir is more than a love story. It is a story of discovery, of change, of finding oneself. It is about fear and loss and grief, of finding what is truly important in life. It is tender, poignant, wise.”—Huntsville Times
 
“For anyone who’d like to chuck it all and move to the country.”—The Washington Post

“If Laskas were a novelist, she’d be Lorrie Moore. Fifty Acres is as much about farm shopping as it is about the vulnerability that comes with loving, the difference between solitude and loneliness, and the complications of dreams—nurturing them, ignoring them, and, finally, allowing them to come true.”—New Age Journal

“When your fantasy becomes reality, then what’s left to dream about? Laskas finds this, and plenty of other things, out along the way to uprooting her life and building a new one.”—Seattle Weekly
 
“Engaging, engrossing, fun to read . . . sprinkled with unforgettable characters.”—Delaware County Daily Times
 
“Laskas exudes a sincerity about her rural innocence that commands respect for her both as a person and as a writer.”—The Observer-Reporter
 
“An amusing and emotional tale, told in loving detail . . . with heartfelt honesty . . . offering many fresh pleasures for any city dweller who has ever dreamed of buying a farm.”—Publishers Weekly