Upstairs the Peasants Are Revolting: More Family Life in a Farmhouse

by Dorcas Smucker

Get ready for another rollicking reading ride -- when you can't tell if the tears you suddenly find on your cheeks are from laughing or from crying. Dorcas Smucker once again writes so vividly about life with her six kids that you'll be convinced you have a place at their table, your own seat in their van, a list of chores with your name at the top, and a small hankering for trouble -- just like one of the family. She and her kids are innocently funny and usually well-meaning, trying hard to manage all their energy and their peculiar points of view. Jenny asks questions endlessly like, "What's inside your lips?" Matt has serial obsessions -- animals to astronomy. Ben drops caterpillars down the gaps in the porch floor and has a 12-year collection of scars. Emily moves effortlessly from being a whirling Queen of the Smuckers to posing as a pompous science lecturer. Amy phones home to report that, "New York City is not dangerous," and "We girls walk outside at night." And 9-year-old Steven from Kenya joins the family, soon demonstrating the same compulsion as his new brothers by throwing balls in the living room. What makes this collection a stand-out is Dorcas' "Mother voice." With each new development, she's clear about the outcome she's hoping for, less certain about how she'll accomplish it, willing to confess the way things unfold. Dorcas Smucker, writer and mom, is bravely honest and hilariously humble. She never fails to give courage to any parent who reads these joyride chapters, while relentlessly entertaining.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1561486000
• ISBN13: 9781561486007
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Good Books
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Delightful Read

Love this book & this author. I can SO relate to her experiences, and I'm jealous I'm not brillant enough to write this stuff myself! Especially enjoy the Chapter "Escapes for Mom". You go, girl!

The Life of the Family

Dorcas Smucker has a refreshing voice, as she describes her gratitude for the crisp bite of an apple, the beauty of daffodils growing freely, the frustrations of a year in which mice seem to multiply out of nowhere, the care she took to choose Christmas gifts that would convey the feeling of being "special, loved, and included, like someone who really mattered." I especially enjoyed the essays relating to her marriage, her discussion of the give-and-take of the relationship and how the "feeling" of love sometimes comes and goes but the practice of love should remain solid. Or, as she quotes her husband: You'd think we'd have everything figured out after 18 years. God has blessed me with a wife who is committed to making our marriage work, but we are still discovering the mysteries of love and sacrifice and commitment and how they make a relationship work. Dorcas grew up in the Amish community, but she and her family are now Mennonites and she describes her struggles to make the right decisions. "Is it okay to buy a fast-food meal if it means more time with a friend? If having a garden means I don't have time to teach vacation Bible school, which do I choose? Is making my own food always better than buying it? Am I insisting on doing things the slow and old-fashioned way long after it becomes pointless?" Ultimately, the question seems to be, "Was it worth it?" and her answer comes through clearly, "Yes, yes, it was." Likewise, time spent reading this book was worth it. I highly recommend it.

the perfect antidote to weariness

As a busy Mom of all boys, I have (far too often) fallen into my bed at night, simply worn out from the days trials. I keep this book on my nightstand for just such evenings. Smuckers writing is humorous, honest, and warm. It isn't easy to be cheerful and encouraging without coming across saccharinly sweet but this author does it, with ease. I like to give this book (or her first, Ordinary Days) to mothers at baby showers, especially. When life is full and your time (or attention!) is short...this book is a little B12 shot of joy.

Revolting Peasants or not

This is a great follow up to Ordinary Days, Smuckers 1st book. I read them both in a few weeks, I loved that the 'chapters' were short stories, easy to read alone, so that when I was interupted for a few days from my reading, I could get right back into it. A great gift for a loved one or yourself, the perfect pick-me-up, I laughed out loud!

Charming, warm, feel-good read

After reading and enjoying Ordinary Days, Smucker's first book, I was excited to discover she was publishing another. Smucker's writing has the perfect blend of honesty, charm, and humor. Her short essays are often light-hearted takes on everyday situations that she infuses with laughter and a deeper perspective. There is something beautiful about the simplicity of the life she describes, the details that we often overlook or take for granted. You can't help but wish you could spend a day at the Smucker's after reading one of her books.