Carla Emery calls herself a mother, speaker, and writer, especially of encyclopedias. She is the author of The Encyclopedia of Country Living, which is a resource for people going back to the basics of life. It is a reference that contains such varied tips on how to cultivate a garden, buy land, bake bread, make candles, raise farm animals (as well as slaughter them and utilize them for food), grow herbs, catch a pig, and more invaluable information for farmers in the country and folks in the city. She spent twenty-five years researching, revising, updating, and expanding this one-volume compendium of helpful hints for all areas of basic living. Born in 1939, Emery recounts that her idea for this book came about when her mother-in-law gave her husband Mike a gift subscription to Organic Gardening in 1969. She began working on her encyclopedia, initially called Old Fashioned Recipe Book, in 1970. Since its humble beginnings, there are over 400,000 copies in print. Emery continues to write and research and she remains active in speaking out on world events that affect our environment and health. She is known for her down-to-earth humor and easy speaking style. (Bowker Author Biography)