Forty Acres and a Goat

In Forty Acres and a Goat, Will D. Campbell (1924–2013) picks up where the award-winning Brother to a Dragonfly leaves off, accounting his adventures during the tumultuous civil rights era. As he navigates through the explosive 1960s, including pivotal moments like the integration of Little Rock High School and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Brother Will finds his faith challenged. To further complicate matters, a series of jobs did not pan out as expected—pastorate in Louisiana, director of religious life at the University of Mississippi, and with the National Council of Churches—leaving Brother Will “with a call but no steeple.” In an effort to find his place as a preacher, he moves his family to a farm in rural Tennessee and fashions his own unique style of ministry and a maverick relationship with God, land, and all his fellow pilgrims.