Good Soil : The Education of an Accidental Farmhand

Good Soil: The Education of an Accidental Farmhand is a memoir by journalist and former Fast Company/Fortune editor Jeff Chu, recounting the unexpected turn his life took when he began working on the small teaching farm at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Chu weaves together the practical rhythms of farm labour, planting, growth, decay, and regeneration, with reflection on questions of faith, heritage, belonging, and where our food comes from.

Through the people, animals, and land he encounters on the twenty-one-acre plot, he examines what it means to build community and find meaning in physical work, at a moment when he felt adrift in his own life.

Part memoir, part meditation on nature and spirituality, the book is a reflection on friendship, stewardship of the land, and discovering unexpected fulfilment.