Dunwoody author Pattie Baker, accompanied by her now-famous rubber 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 released on Oct. 5, 100 years ago to the day that her grandfather arrived at Ellis Island.
The book details her 40-day journey across Ireland on buses, trains, and bikes, where Baker, while exploring her Irish heritage, worked on organic farms from coast to coast
One of her goals, the same as her American adventures, was to spend as little money as possible 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 community conscious of ecological farming practices.”
Travelers exchange 20 to 30 hours of work at the farms for food, lodging and education.
Baker volunteered about 150 hours during her stint in Ireland, which included shoveling pig and donkey manure out of a barn, feeding cattle and thoroughbred horses, fertilizing crops with sheep manure, planting, harvesting, clearing farmland, and doing other necessary chores around each WWOOF location.
In between, Baker explored her grandparents’ heritage by immersing herself in the culture, food, language, and landmarks significant to her relatives, and the Irish diaspora in general.
“It was the greatest joy to reconnect with my heritage,” Baker, 62, told Rough Draft in a recent interview. “I deepened my knowledge about generational trauma and resiliency.”
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 found 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 the soon-to-open Prelude Bookstore in Dunwoody, and Charis Books in Decatur.
Baker is also the author of Traveling at the Speed of Bike, and Food for My Daughters.