Ellen Stimson

Ellen Stimson is an American author. In 2013 she wrote Mud Season: How One Woman’s Dream of Moving to Vermont, Raising Children, Chickens and Sheep, and Running the Old Country Store Pretty Much Led to One Calamity After Another about her life in small-town Vermont as someone who grew up in the city. In 2014 she then released Good Grief! Life in a Tiny Vermont Village, a sequel work to Mud Seasons. In 2015 Stimson then released An Old-Fashioned Christmas: Sweet Traditions for Hearth and Home.

Personal life

Ellen Stimson grew up and lived in St. Louis region until 2003, when she moved to the town of Dorset, Vermont.^[1] Upon moving she took over a store, which she ran until 2007,^[2] named Peltier’s after the original owners.^[3] The store was first founded in 1816. Stimson had previously been vacationing in Vermont since 1994.^[4] In career while living in St. Louis, Stimson was the head of the retail division for book wholesaler The Book Source,^[5] before becoming a part owner in Unique Books (a library book distributor).^[6] Stimson is a breast cancer survivor, diagnosed at the age of 32 in 1994.^[7] She has three children, one with her deceased first husband Steve Stimson, and two with her now husband John Rushing.^[6] According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Stimson now makes a living through her development agency isabelpratt, which does fundraising for nonprofits such as schools and hospitals."^[8]

Mud Season

In 2013 Stimson released the book Mud Season: How One Woman’s Dream of Moving to Vermont, Raising Children, Chickens and Sheep, and Running the Old Country Store Pretty Much Led to One Calamity After Another. Rachel Carter wrote of the book that, “is a fish-out-of-water tale describing what it’s actually like to move to a rural town in the middle of nowhere. From unexpected wildlife in the front yard to that terrifying sound ice makes when it falls off the roof.” The book is a memoir of her family life and goings-on around her new home in Vermont. She made the decision to write the work as her 50th birthday approached in 2012. As an avid reader, she felt that the best way of spending the weeks running up to the date was to write a book.^[2]

The narrative non-fiction work surround her country store, the sale of which occurs at the end of the book.^[9] One of the book’s chapters “Bats and Bears and Skunks — Oh My” was reprinted in the October 2013 edition of Reader’s Digest.^[4] According to the Boston Globe wrote that Stimson is, “a natural storyteller and openhearted lover of her family, her animals, her big chaotic life.”^[10]

Good Grief!

In 2014 Stimson released the book Good Grief! Life in a Tiny Vermont Village.^[1] The book continues her narrative non-fiction about her family. Kirkus Review wrote, “Stimson, her husband and their three children are still living in rural Vermont, dealing with all of the changes that come as children become teenagers and marriages find their patterns.”^[11] Many of the incidents occur after the sale of the store. The book was supported by a thirty city national book tour.^[12]

An Old-Fashioned Christmas

In 2015 Stimson released her book An Old-Fashioned Christmas: Sweet Traditions for Hearth and Home. The book contains the Christmas-related tales about her family, from their choice to live in Vermont to their holiday celebrations.^[13] The book also contains recipes that the family make for the holiday season.^[14]

References

External links

www.ellenstimson.com