Out to Pasture: But Not Over the Hill [Paperback]

Effie Leland Wilder (Author), Laurie Allen Klein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2002

The first of Effie Leland Wilder's raucous tales about Hattie McNair and the other residents of FairAcres Retirement Home

Hattie McNair may be retired, but she certainly hasn't retired from life. In journals and letters to a friend, Hattie tells the stories of her fellow residents at a retirement home and of the immeasurable gifts and burdens of aging.

Through the histories, hopes, and hijinks of Hattie's friends and foes, we come to know the Fair Acres folks and to share their triumphs and losses. When they join forces to help an illiterate young handyman, Hattie and company change their lives as well as those of young Arthur Priest and his family. By the time we finish Out to Pasture, we know the pride found

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hattie McNair, the feisty protagonist of this modest, semi-autobiographical first novel, is a widow living in a South Carolina retirement home. Through her diary entries, we watch as the home's residents tell their life stories, exchange confidences and gossip, develop romantic crushes and turn to one another for support. Longing for a change in her daily routine, Hattie debates whether life is worth living. Her answer is a resounding "yes." Together with Minna McKenzie, a retired music teacher, she plays piano duets, belting out a Scott Joplin rag. On an adventurous walk, Hattie discovers an empty, mysterious cottage completely covered with kudzu vines, tracks down its owner, a reclusive widower, and helps persuade him to rent it out. She also comforts her friend, Sarah Moorer, who is dying of cancer. Interpersed with the journal entries are letters to friends and cheery light verse ("August is a messy month/ With skeeters, flies, and fleas, / With thunderstorms and gale alarms/ And weeds up to your knees"). More a sketch than a finished work, this is an unpretentious, occasionally poignant look at aging. Illustrations.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Wilder, a resident of the Presbyterian Retirement Home in North Carolina, puts her observations of her fellow retirees to good use in this charming novel. Written as if it were the memoirs and correspondence of an elderly woman named Hattie McNair residing in the Fair Acres Retirement Home, this fiction is a neatly spun portrait of some kind and gentle elderly men and women and a few bad apples. Hattie is a busybody, though a pleasant and well-intentioned one. She manages to have the handyman tutored in literacy and secures for him a new residence for his growing family. Along the way, she describes the nut cases, the physically failing residents, and several determined souls like herself. A touching portrayal that breathes deserved life into an overlooked generation. Denise Perry Donavin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Peachtree Publishers (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561452653
• ISBN-13: 978-1561452651
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #878,985 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny & helped my mother see that life could still be good., August 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Out to Pasture: But Not over the Hill (Hardcover)

I bought this book at a time when I could see that we were going to have to find a new, safe place for Mother to live. However, she resisted the thought of moving to an "Old Folks Home", as she put it. She had also fallen into the "I don't want to go anywhere, because it takes too much effort" routine. Since she has always been a very sociable person, she fell into a deep depression. As I read this book to her, we both saw that there was a better alternative for her, as she was not so far along, physically and mentally, as to need a nursing home. After she moved into The Reunion Inn, in Marshall, Tx., I started reading to the residents from this book on a weekly basis. I am scheduled on their monthly calendar as "The Whimsical Reader." The book has allowed the residents to recall a lot of memories, as well as opening their eyes to the humor around them. It has also given them ideas as to how The Reunion Inn can be improved for their convenience. They really liked the idea of the benches across from the cafeteria line. Reading to the residents has given me the opportunity to get to know them better than I probably would have otherwise. This book has given such pleasure to all of us that The Reunion Inn is going to buy the rest of the books in the series so that I can continue reading to their guests. I recommend this book to anyone facing the possibility of moving into or placing their parent in an assisted living facility. It certainly made the decision easier for us.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book!, August 25, 2001

By 

"dar934" (PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out to Pasture: But Not over the Hill (Hardcover)

I am no where near "Out To Pasture" but I found this novel to be delightful. This book has the oddest group of senior citizens you will ever run across. Filled with both serious and light situations this book will make you cry and then laugh. Effie Wilder teaches us that just because you are older your life is still full and the possibilities are endless. Way to go Effie!!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book about a forgotten generation, July 18, 2000

By 

Stephanie (ATLANTA, Gabon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Out to Pasture: But Not over the Hill (Hardcover)

Mrs. Wilder has given all generations a delightful and easy to swallow book about aging. The main character, Hattie, is into everyone's business, but in a kindhearted way. Through her eyes the reader can see much of the pain and joy of being older. Leaving your home and moving into a retirement home is never an easy choice, but I think Hattie shows us that if done with grace, it can work out to be a fairly good life. The book is a joy to read, offers lots of laughs, a few tears, and some good hard lessons about life. I look forward to sharing this book with my "adopted" eighty-four-year-old grandmother.