RIDGE AND RESERVOIR
Discover an intimate, deeply reflective journey of healing, survival, and the fierce power of empathy.
Available exclusively through this website directly from the author, this beautiful, portable pocket-sized collection features two award-winning essays by Lisa Hayes-Minney. Rooted in radical honesty and profound compassion, these stories explore the delicate threads that connect us through our deepest trials and lift us toward hope.
Inside the Collection
“Old Scars, New Wounds”
A hauntingly beautiful look at two women bound by the ripple effects of violence. One woman, having survived a past relationship with a man who was murdered, reflects on her trauma in the hope of helping her friend—who is currently navigating life with a partner accused of murder. It is a masterclass in shared grief, understanding, and navigating the present through the lens of the past.
“Little One”
The tender story of an abused beagle and a victim of violence who find solace in one another. Together, they embark on a journey of mutual survival, proving that healing often comes on four legs.
Why Read This Book?
Filled with lush, vivid descriptions and profound psychological reflection, this small book carries an enormous heart. Lisa Hayes-Minney writes with an authentic, unwavering grace that doesn’t shy away from the pain of old scars, but ultimately celebrates the expressions of love that will wrench, then lift your heart.
Format: Pocket-sized, portable paperback — perfect for intentional, reflective reading wherever you go.
Availability: Exclusive limited run. Only available through the author here.
LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE
Two-Lane Livin’ Magazine featured more than 35 columnists over a decade, and Lisa’s column, “Two-Lane for Life,” appeared in all 123 issues.
During her tenure as editor, publisher, and columnist for Two-Lane Livin’, she tried to learn about homesteading and farming from other columnists and her own research; apply the principles of sustainable, simple living to her own life; and share those experiences with her readers.
Several columnists from the magazine have compiled their work into books, and we hope you will enjoy their collections as well as this assembly of some of Lisa’s personal favorites from ten years of her own column in the magazine.
Available at best price via the author here.
FAVORITE REFLECTIONS
Step into the heart of a community with a deeply authentic, comforting collection of stories that celebrate the extraordinary in the everyday.
Favorite Reflections brings together the most beloved installments of Lisa Hayes-Minney’s longtime newspaper column. Written during her years as a reporter for a close-knit, small-town community, these curated pieces offer a warm, nostalgic, and fiercely honest look at the quiet moments that connect us all.
Inside the Collection
Grounded Small-Town Journalism: A front-row seat to the rhythms, trials, and triumphs of rural community life, captured with a reporter’s sharp eye and an essayist’s soul.
Radical Empathy & Humor: Stories that find profound wisdom in the ordinary—from the porch-side chats and local eccentrics to the universal truths of family, nature, and neighborliness.
A Tapestry of Human Connection: Each short reflection serves as a gentle reminder that no matter how isolated we might feel, we are bound together by shared experiences and a common heart.
Why Read This Book?
With the same unwavering grace and deep empathy found in her creative nonfiction, Lisa Hayes-Minney crafts a literary sanctuary in Favorite Reflections. These columns don’t just report the news of a small town; they capture its pulse. It is the perfect bedside or morning-coffee companion—filled with beautiful prose and deep insights that will make you smile, reflect, and look at your own community with fresh eyes.
Format: Portable, easy-to-read paperback — ideal for daily reflections and cozy reading. Available from the author here.
10,000 DAYS IN THE WOODS
Russ Richardson grew up in 1950s New England in an area straddling the Vermont-Massachusetts border. His story, which paints a vivid image of a New England landscape that no longer exists, begins at a time when most rural families were multigenerational and daily life was guided by centuries of weather lore and farming tradition.
Passionate about conservation since joining the Cub Scouts at age seven, Russ became a foot soldier in the environmental movement. Seeking a career in the out-of-doors, he left home at seventeen to pursue his forestry education in North Dakota. After graduating from the University of Montana in 1973, he planted trees in Idaho, worked for the Forest Service in Montana, and spent time logging in Washington and Vermont before finally obtaining his first job as a professional Forester in 1976.
After a lifetime spent working in the woods, Russ has amassed a unique collection of experiences likely to never be duplicated. This first volume of 10,000 Days in the Woods covers stories from his childhood on the family farm until he returned to New England from Montana in late 1975.
Coached and edited by Lisa Hayes-Minney. Available here.
MIMI’S PEEPOT GOES TO TOWN
The true story of a multi-generational family treasure, written by Connie Scott and illustrated by Makenna West. Edited and published by Lisa Hayes-Minney.