SUBMITTED PHOTO Bestselling author Michael Perry visits the Marshalltown Public Library on Thursday to share his experiences, and excerpts from some of his published works. Perry hails from Wisconsin and his visit was sponsored by Friends of the Library.

Wisconsin author Michael Perry entertained an audience large enough to require additional chairs at the Marshalltown Public Library on Thursday. Perry is a prolific writer, with nearly two dozen published books, some of them New York Times best sellers. During his presentation, he shared excerpts from his books which were hilariously funny, yet at the same time, touching and poetic.

Perry’s resume is long and unusual – humorist, corporate speaker, singer and songwriter, playwright, radio show host, free-lance writer for magazines, columnist, trained nurse, former cattle ranch hand in Wyoming, husband and father of two girls, amateur snow plow driver and the list goes on. One has to wonder when he finds time to sleep.

Raised on a hardscrabble dairy farm in Wisconsin, Perry left for big city life as a young adult. His father didn’t bat an eye when Perry told him he wanted to be a nurse. Instead, he told his son that “nursing is a noble profession” and believed he would be a good one. He had one request, however: he wanted to be there “when they pin that little hat on.”

Perry worked summers as a ranch hand on a Wyoming cattle ranch to earn the money to pay for his nursing education. He had quite a time explaining that goal to the cowboys at the ranch.

When Perry left his hometown of New Auburn, he’d left as a cowboy, a good student and a good football player. When he returned years later, he was a long-haired writer with a nursing degree. He knew he would have to prove himself.

Perry’s first book, “Population 458: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time,” describes his initial reconnection with his hometown, populated by just 458 residents. He realized many of the folks he’d grown up with may have had doubts about him upon his return. He found a creative, but meaningful way to reassure them when he added volunteer fire and rescue service to his resume.

His mom, a nurse herself, and his sister were already on the crew, and he jokes, “I had a pulse and daytime availability.”

Perry said the most meaningful thing he had ever done was serve 12 years beside his neighbors on the New Auburn Area Fire Department.

“Truck: A Love Story” isn’t just the tale of Perry’s love for his ancient, rusted-out 3/4 -ton International Harvester pick-up truck whose image graces the book’s cover. It’s also a more traditional love story resulting in a marriage proposal, sprinkled with Perry’s efforts to grow his own garden.

In another book, Perry describes his rickety, crooked farmhouse, his wait for the birth of his second daughter and his efforts to build a chicken coop in “Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs, and Parenting.” Perry movingly explained that his first daughter is his “given daughter” rather than his “step-daughter.”

This warm-hearted love of family is evident in his books and was clear throughout his presentation, as well.

He said despite the hard work and a family income below the poverty line, “I never went to bed hungry, and I never wondered if I was loved.”

Perry gives all of the credit to his parents.

“Anything good is because of them; everything else is simply not their fault,” he said.

Love of the land and the farming lifestyle are also consistent themes winding their way through Perry’s books and his presentation. Descriptions of the seasonal changes in the landscape of Wisconsin are like poetry, so much so that he could consider adding one more thing to his resume – poet.

“Forty Acres Deep” is an ode to farming, and tells the story of a farmer clinging to his land despite family tragedy and the immense difficulties inherent in today’s changing farming environment.

After the presentation, attendees were given the opportunity to purchase books, have them autographed and chat with the author. Perry’s presentation was co-sponsored by Friends of the Marshalltown Public Library and Beaverdale Books, an independent bookstore in Des Moines.