Funny farm : my unexpected life with 600 rescue animals /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

An inspiring and moving memoir of the author's turbulent life with 600 rescue animals.

Laurie Zaleski never aspired to run an animal rescue; that was her mother Annie's dream. But from girlhood, Laurie was determined to make the dream come true. Thirty years later as a successful businesswoman, she did it, buying a 15-acre farm deep in the Pinelands of South Jersey. She was planning to relocate Annie and her caravan of ragtag rescues--horses and goats, dogs and cats, chickens and pigs--when Annie died, just two weeks before moving day. In her heartbreak, Laurie resolved to make her mother's dream her own. In 2001, she established the Funny Farm Animal Rescue outside Mays Landing, New Jersey. Today, she carries on Annie's mission to save abused and neglected animals.

Funny Farm is Laurie's story: of promises kept, dreams fulfilled, and animals lost and found. It's the story of Annie McNulty, who fled a nightmarish marriage with few skills, no money and no resources, dragging three kids behind her, and accumulating hundreds of cast-off animals on the way. And lastly, it's the story of the brave, incredible, and adorable animals that were rescued. Although there are some sad parts (as life always is), there are lots of laughs.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Prologue (p. 1)
• Part I Necessity Is a Mother
• 1 Runaways (p. 9)
• 2 We Were the Joneses (p. 24)
• 3 What Doesn't Kill You (p. 40)
• 4 Accidentally Eden (p. 46)
• 5 Going for Broke (p. 56)
• 6 Mayonnaise Sandwiches (p. 65)
• 7 The Facts of Life (p. 74)
• 8 Jersey Devils (p. 84)
• Part II Annie's Girl
• 9 Father Figure (p. 99)
• 10 The Trespasser (p. 110)
• 11 The Good Fight (p. 130)
• 12 Crossroads (p. 144)
• 13 Nightfall (p. 155)
• 14 Homeward Bound (p. 164)
• Part III Oh Give Me a Home
• 15 Moving Day (p. 177)
• 16 A Pig Too Far (p. 188)
• 17 Chucky (p. 201)
• 18 Act Two (p. 216)
• 19 No Fences (p. 221)
• 20 Valentine's Day (p. 232)
• Epilogue | Someday (p. 240)
• Acknowledgments (p. 243)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

In this heartwarming debut, Zaleski, founder of New Jersey's Funny Farm Rescue & Sanctuary, shares how she came to live with "hundreds of ducks and geese, dogs and cats, pigs and goats, alpacas and horses." After her mother left her sadistic father in the 1970s, with Zaleski and her siblings in tow, the transition (which included "hiding out in a motel") was rough, but the peace they found made up for the loss of their upper-middle-class lifestyle. Laurie's plucky mother, Annie, was a fierce animal lover and devoted her life to rescuing animals, even when money was tight. So it only seemed fitting, after her mother died in 2000, for Zaleski to fulfill Annie's dream of running her own animal rescue. Today, her farm accommodates more than 600 animals--ranging from skunks taken in from exotic animal breeders to retired racehorses--many of which she pays loving tributes to. As she dishes stories of her guests--including Angel, a cantankerous, disabled goose who "didn't live up to her name," and a sweet 1,200-pound mare--Zaleski masterfully illustrates how one person can rise above difficult circumstances to do substantial good. Lovers of the furry and feathery will revel in this feel-good story. (Sept.)

Kirkus Book Review

An adult survivor of domestic violence recounts her experience starting an animal rescue farm in honor of her courageous mother. When Zaleski was a child, her neighbors thought her family was perfect. Her mother, "a happy homemaker, demure but fashionable in her minidresses and capris with beautifully coiffed hair and flawless makeup," was well matched with her charming, economically successful husband. But behind all the society page--worthy parties, the family harbored a dark secret: Zaleski's father was dangerously violent. Finally, after two unsuccessful attempts at fleeing, Zaleski's mother packed the children in the car and relocated to a house in the New Jersey woods that was so run-down it was almost uninhabitable. There followed years of abject poverty, continued harassment from her father, and a long line of adopted animals ("an endless litany of sad stories"). Zaleski's mother rescued so many animals that she nicknamed their home the Funny Farm, a name the author would use when she formally opened an animal rescue farm in her mother's honor weeks after her untimely death. "She had rallied, like Lazarus, after her brain surgery, so much so that we started believing in miracles," writes Zaleski. "But…her decline, when it came, was swift. She faded before our eyes like a Polaroid in reverse." The narrative alternates between a chronological account of the family's experiences living just 10 minutes--yet a world away--from their wealthy, abusive father and vignettes about the animals living at the current Funny Farm. The author expertly balances humor and vulnerability while sharing the details of her harrowing childhood, making the book feel like a conversation between friends. Although the interspersed anecdotes about the Funny Farm's most famous rescued animals provide welcome moments of levity, they sometimes lack a connection to the main story. On the whole, however, the book, both heartwarming and heartbreaking, is an enjoyable read. An affirming memoir about surviving domestic violence with the help of furred and feathered friends. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

LAURIE ZALESKI is the owner and founder of the Funny Farm Rescue & Sanctuary, non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization located in Mays Landing, New Jersey. Since 2000, the farm has welcomed all kinds of rescue animals. Laurie is also the founder, and CEO of Art-Z Graphics. She has been named a New Jersey Heartland Hero, and is listed in the 2019, 2020, and 2021 Who's Who of Professional Women publication and has received numerous awards and acknowledgments for her work to save animals and educate the public about animal abuse. She is truly an inspirational woman of our times.