Pigs Can't Swim

A memoir by the youngest of nine children in a rural Maine family that's “an unruly, joyous troublemaker of a book” (Richard Hoffman, Award-Winning Writer).

With everything happening on Helen Peppe's backwoods Maine farm, life was wild—and not just for the animals. Sibling rivalry, rock-bottom poverty, feral male chauvinism, sex in the hayloft: everything seemed—and was—out of control. In telling her wayward family tale, Peppe manages deadpan humor, an unerring eye for the absurd, and poignant compassion for her utterly overwhelmed parents.

While her feisty resilience and candor will inevitably remind readers of Jeannette Walls or Mary Karr, Peppe's wry insight and moments of tenderness with family and animals are entirely her own.

“Pigs Can't Swim is poignant and funny, with a courageous endearing heroine.” —National bestselling author Esmeralda Santiago

“[Peppe's] unforgettable memoir is full of great characters, both human and animal, as well as cruelty and betrayal, humor and forgiveness, all observed with the eye of an eagle and the loyalty of a dog. It will break your heart and then heal it again.” —New York Times–bestselling author Sy Montgomery