Admit it: you’ve dreamed about opening an animal sanctuary. What animal lover hasn’t?

Seven years ago, Jenny Brown and Doug Abel opened the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary near Woodstock, New York. In her new book, The Lucky Ones: My Passionate Fight for Farm Animals, Jenny recounts — in candid and often hilarious style — her journey from her meat-and-dairy-heavy childhood in Kentucky to finding her life’s work as sanctuary director. Along the way, she educates readers about the ugly realities of modern animal agriculture, and invites us to meet the animals — the “lucky ones” — who have found a life-long home with her in Woodstock.

Beyond the heartwarming stories of Dylan the steer and Beatrice the turkey, though, Jenny gives us a glimpse into the hard work of running a sanctuary: the rigorous preparation (she lived and worked at Farm Sanctuary for a year, taking copious notes on every aspect of the operation), being strategic about everything from location to fundraising, and what it’s like to face the hard choices when a sanctuary must say “no” to taking in more animals than it can responsibly care for.

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