A North Country Live by Sydney Lea

Sydney Lea, Vermont’s former Poet Laureate, invites you into the wild heart of New England with A North Country Life, a stunning collection that weaves together memoir, natural history, and lyrical meditation. This is a book that smells like woodsmoke and pine needles—a love letter to the rugged landscapes and quiet rhythms of rural living.

Lea writes with the precision of a hunter and the soul of a poet, capturing the essence of a life lived close to the land. Whether he’s tracking deer through November snow, paddling a canoe at dawn, or simply watching the seasons turn from his porch, each essay pulses with authentic observation and hard-won wisdom. This isn’t romanticized nature writing—it’s the real thing, written by someone who knows the ache of cold mornings and the deep satisfaction of a woodpile stacked just right.

What makes this collection special:

• Intimate essays that blend personal reflection with keen environmental awareness
• Rich portraits of North Country characters and communities
• Prose that reads like poetry—spare, precise, and deeply moving
• A meditation on what it means to belong to a place

Perfect for readers who loved Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek or Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, this is a book to linger over. Pour yourself something warm, settle into your favorite chair, and let Sydney Lea guide you into the woods. You’ll return changed.