Hammer Head the Making of a Carpenter

"Though MacLaughlin may be an apprentice carpenter, she is a master writer, with the rare combination of acute observation and astute word choice that characterizes writers like Annie Dillard or Joan Didion." -- Rebecca Steinitz - Boston Globe
"Reading Hammer Head, like consuming Cheryl Strayed's Wild, feels like a crucial education... [Hammer Head teaches] by example that it's possible to forge through this world alone, with your own hands and the right supplies, and some good, poetic instruction along the way." -- Isabella Biedenharn - Entertainment Weekly
"Beautiful and wise... Like if Annie Dillard had her own show on HGTV." -- Edan Lepucki - The Millions
"MacLaughlin has hit the nail on the head... Stunning... You may very well read [Hammer Head] in one sitting." -- Caroline Goldstein - Bustle
"Inspirational... [Hammer Head] will have Wild fans throwing down their backpacks and picking up a hammer." -- Liberty Hardy - Book Riot
"Renders enormous interest in this painstaking work, so lovingly delineated." -- Publishers Weekly
"A surprisingly thoughtful book about taking chances and finding joy in change." -- Kirkus
"An effortless blend of literary craft with woodcraft." -- Erin Shea - Library Journal (starred review)
"Inspiring." -- Time Out, (Critics Pick)
"Not many of us find the courage to follow that small voice inside us to our true work, especially when that work lacks social status and health benefits and financial stability. But here, in this wonderfully assured debut, Nina MacLaughlin compellingly chronicles having done just that, a leap of faith that brings her more deeply into her very core where the stakes are high but the potential for lasting joy is even higher. Lucky for us, MacLaughlin's evocative prose is just as plumb, level, and true as all the wood structures she ultimately learns to build. This is a lovely and important book!" -- Andre Dubus III, author of Townie
"Hammer Head is warm, wise, and authentically inspiring. No other book has made me want to re-read Ovid and retile my bathroom floor, nor given me the conviction that I can do both. I loved it." -- Rosie Schaap, author of Drinking with Men
"In this beautiful memoir about learning a trade, Nina MacLaughlin explores mortality, desire, the passage of time, and the meaning of work. She transcends the personal and makes us question what of our own works are built to endure. This book-a thing well-made-certainly is." -- Philip Connors, author of Fire Season
"Nina MacLaughlin built a dream by becoming a carpenter, and transformed her life. Hammer Head is her exquisitely inspiring story. I loved it." -- Lynne Cox, author of Swimming to Antarctica
"I have never built anything but after reading Nina MacLaughlin's smart, inspiring memoir Hammer Head, I wanted to. She gives context and depth to wood and the act of shaping it, of working with one's hands, of taking risks and letting go. A fantastic debut." -- Molly Birnbaum, author of Season to Taste