‘Round Ireland with a Duck’ explores author’s roots with her favorite travel companion

Supplied by Pattie Baker Dunwoody author Pattie Baker accompanied by her now-famous plastic duck Disco expanded her adventures across the pond while on a personal journey to explore her Irish roots The book Round Ireland with a Duck was published on Oct years ago to the day that her grandfather arrived on a ferry to Ellis Island The book details her -day journey across Ireland on buses trains and bikes where Baker while exploring her Irish heritage worked on organic farms from Greencastle to Galway One of her goals the same as her American adventures was to spend as little money as viable on the trip which she accomplished using a WWOOFing work live method Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms WWOOF according to its website links visitors with organic farmers promotes an educational and cultural exchange and builds a global locality conscious of ecological farming practices Travelers exchange to hours of work at the farms for food lodging and learning Baker volunteered about hours during her stint in Ireland which included shoveling pig and donkey manure out of a barn bottle-feeding baby goats fertilizing crops with sheep manure planting clearing farmland and doing other necessary chores around each WWOOF location In between Baker explored her grandparents heritage by immersing herself in the heritage food language and landmarks considerable to her relatives It was the greatest bliss to reconnect with my heritage Baker communicated Rough Draft in a modern interview I learned a lot about generational trauma that I didn t know anything about At the end of the book Baker shares her grandmother s recipe for Irish soda bread a glossary of Irish words shared in the book reviews from her WWOOFing hosts and a song she wrote about her adventure called Shanty of the Wild Woman and her Duck a portion of which is below I set out lone no map in hand But stories stirred in that ancient land With spuds to wash and foals to chase I determined my name in Irish grace Baker inspired by her trip and her deep dive into her heritage has applied for duel citizenship so she will have a chance to go to the left at customs instead of the right when she arrives in Ireland for her next trip Round Ireland with a Duck is now available on Amazon globally at independent bookstores everywhere including Scholar and Scribe in Trilith Ireland and Charis Books in Decatur Baker is also the author of Traveling at the Speed of Bike and Food for My Daughters The post Round Ireland with a Duck explores author s roots with her favorite movement companion appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta