Renee King-Sonnen, founder of Rowdy Girl Sanctuary and author of the new memoir Rowdy Girl: Confessions of a Vegan Cattle Rancher, returns to Our Hen House to share the unlikely journey behind her long-awaited book. From battling addiction to falling in love with a rescued calf named Rowdy Girl, Renee opens up about the spiritual awakening that transformed her from a Texas cattle rancher’s wife into a vegan advocate — and how that same rowdy spirit carried her through to land a book deal with Bloomsbury Publishing.
Renee King-Sonnen, Founder and Executive Director of Rowdy Girl Sanctuary, has been at the forefront of animal rights activism internationally ever since she rescued her husband’s Texas herd from slaughter. She tells their story of former Texas cattle ranchers turned vegan at VegFests, conferences, animal rights rallies, and vegan celebrity events. Their story went viral on CBS Evening News in 2016, launching an international following and fanbase that propelled Rowdy Girl into the forefront of the Animal Rights Movement. In 2016, Renee won the VegNews prestigious “Vegan Rookie of the Year” Award. No longer a rookie, her voice can be heard on podcasts, news stories, documentaries, and magazine interviews all over the world. Renee’s journey is the subject of the documentary, Rowdy Girl: The Story of a Texas Cattle Rancher Who Went Vegan, streaming on Apple TV, GuideDoc, and Tubi. It also airs nationwide on PBS. Her debut memoir, Rowdy Girl: Confessions of a Vegan Cattle Rancher, was published by Bloomsbury Publishing on June 25, 2026.
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