It took me a couple of months to read this. Usually I would probably finish a book of this size in a a couple of weeks. However, I was fascinated and inspired by this one! My fascination slowed me down, causing me to pore over each passage, sometimes rereading or going back to find a reference to something in an earlier chapter. I would stop to daydream about recreating something Kingsolver describes in my own yard. I would call Mom to discuss what I'd read.
My inspiration led me to a plethora of other books, blogs, and activities that limited my time with Kingsolver's memoir. I picked up a second Michael Pollan book (
Food Rules, which I devoured), investigated books on gardening (and gave one as a gift,
The Backyard Homestead, which I also own), visited the local
Farmer's Market, and subsequently started eight tomato plants, nine herbs, and a variety of salad greens on my back patio.
This is such a phenomenal book. I've said several times lately that I know I'm an adult now. I'm reading and loving nonfiction. I have always shied away from nonfiction, reading with reluctance if not actual distaste. However, several books lately have captured my attention and held it. Mom is surely relieved that I'm not going to spend my entire adulthood reading "kiddie books", as she calls my beloved YA lit.
Perhaps, as I rhapsodize about the book, I should pause for a moment to explain the premise. It's a memoir of a year in Kingsolver's life during which she and her family (husband, teenage daughter, and third grade daughter) lived and worked on a farm in southwest Virginia, eating only what they grew or could buy from their community. They became locavores. And they made it seem so normal, as though the average American could manage it easily. While I know that truly I lack the time, skills, inclination, or money to support myself entirely from my own labors, I know that I could at least attempt many of the things she describes.
- I could make cheese and yogurt.
- I could have a garden.
- I could support local farmers by shopping at the Farmer's Market.
- I could choose organic, heirloom breeds of fruit, vegetables, and meat whenever they are available.
- I could discover and frequent restaurants that serve local foods.
- Someday, maybe, I could even raise chickens (birds are pretty creepy, though), or even a cow or pig.
- I could teach my students about the value of gardening and the joy of knowing where one's food comes from.
These are things that I could do which would support my local economy, make me and my husband healthier, and positively influence future generations, including my own (as yet hypothetical) children.
