Funny Farm- Laurie Zaleski

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for this advanced reader’s copy of Funny Farm in exchange for my honest opinion. Available this Tuesday: 9/14!  Funny Farm is a heartfelt memoir of its owner and core, Laurie Zaleski. In many ways this story is a love letter to Anne McNulty, Laurie’s mother and founder of the original Funny Farm, a home for misfit rescues ranging from cows to peacocks to pigs and . Zaleski chronicles the wild, hair raising stories of her upbringing with her mother as ringleader. Her family had less than next to nothing after Anne escaped a horrific marriage. Although life in a cramped shack of a house with little income was anything but easy, Anne’s unyielding love and devotion for her children partnered  gung-ho and tenacious spirit created not only a sanctuary for her and her family but   also a safe haven for family of a different origin: that of the fur and feather variety. 

Laurie is an intelligent woman of many talents. She grew up with her sights on being an artist but as we all know, “life is what happens when we are busy making other plans.” Her mother’s love for taking in the unwanted and giving a second chance to animals often on their way to being discarded became bedrock on which Laurie built her life. She promised her mother she would expand Funny Farm, allowing the ability to take on more animals. 

Funny Farm is a heartwarming story brimming with impossible situations both on and off the farm and deep emotions but is written in light-hearted way that leaves you chuckling along. Some sort of miraculous, sweet, and/ or outrageous story of one of a Funny Farm inhabitant follows each chapter and had me scrolling through their Instagram to put a face to the name. (I am particularly fond of a sassy jewelry-loving diva chicken named Adele.) 

Against all odds, Zaleski has kept her promise to her mother and truly turned coal into diamonds. Laurie continues Anne’s legacy and Funny Farm is now home to over 600 animals, each with their own unique, endearing personality. At this animal rescue, all are welcome and the unwanted and abused have found their forever  family. 

Funny Farm is proof that 1) no matter what our background, we each have a place in this world and 2) if these mesh of feathered and furry friends can get along, there is no reason humanity can’t do the same.

{pictured: Stardust with her best attempt at making a funny face. She particularly enjoyed the equine stories.} 

Okay, my vegan self can’t help but point out the importance of explaining how extraordinarily intelligent animals are. I truly believe if we knew how these animals bond and interact, mourn and feel joy, we wouldn’t want anything to do with any sort of animal endangerment. There’s not a single preachy line in this book but I felt the need to add a bit of my own here. (All in love!)