In this lovely, unconventional, often funny memoir, we meet Catherine Goldhammer, newly separated, and several tax-brackets poorer, forced by circumstance to move from the affluent New England suburb of her daughter's childhood into a new, more rustic life by the sea. As she gradually transforms her new house with its tawdry exterior but radiant soul; as she watches her precocious 12 year-old daughter blossom into a stylish and sophisticated teenager; and as she tends to the needs of six enigmatic chickens, Catherine's life starts to slowly shift from chaos to grace. Beautifully written and ultimately inspiring, Still Life With Chickens is an unforgettable lesson in hope, in starting over, and in the transcendent wisdom that can often be found in the most unlikely of places.