Martyrs and Chickens

Commenting on Martyrs and Chickens, Kate Baer, author of How About Now and other poetry bestsellers, says that "Beachy writes with exquisite tenderness, wit, and unflinching honesty about faith, family, and the push-pull of heritage. Through essays that are both deeply personal and universally resonant, she navigates marriage, motherhood, infertility, and caregiving-all while reckoning with what it means to inherit a legacy of sacrifice and simplicity. I clutched my heart."

grə-nō-lə adj: Term Gen Xers and Elder Millenials use to connote an eco-conscious, peace-lovin', homemade, slightly unwashed vibe. me-nə-nīt noun: Oh, dear, where to start? Not with bonnets and buggies, certainly, or the denominational conferences and non-conference conferences. Not with Yoders in my family tree. Once upon a time in the sixteenth century . . .

Raised to believe in peace, woodstoves, and homemade bread, Kirsten Eve Beachy embarks on married life with a Mennonite boy from a dairy farm in this memoir of collected essays. As they dabble in homesteading, care for aging relatives, discover more about their family and denominational history, and overcome infertility, she learns to trust her voice as writer and mother of twins, one with Down syndrome.

With authenticity and wit, Beachy wonders what a martyr heritage means for herself and her children, celebrates the complexities of simple living, and seeks balance as artist and caregiver. Along the way, there are apocryphal Mennonite cookbook recipes, corn day, a farm auction, butchering up close and personal, a doctrine of backyard chickens, surprising genealogical discoveries, an alphabet of infertility, tragedy in the beehive, midnight chantings of a breast pump, dancing through a pandemic, and fresh takes on Amish and Mennonite histories of the Hochstetler massacre, the White Stutzman, and the Civil War.