Radiance of the Ordinary - by Tara Couture Hardcover

About the Book

"From the author of the popular Slowdown Farmstead Substack, a collection of stories about cultivating authenticity in an age of great pretend-through our work, our homemaking, our food, our relationships, and our willingness to engage with life's pleasures and hardships alike. For most of her youth and early adulthood, Tara Couture had a deep fear of death. When her mother left the house, Tara would beg her to stay, certain that death was right around the corner. As the threat loomed in her mind, distraction in its many forms became her only relief. In her twenties, determined to manifest her long-time dream of owning a farm, Tara worked alongside a cattleman, Richard, whose perspectives on life and death would come to transform her own. When Tara found herself in the passenger seat of Richard's truck out on the Alberta prairie, in search of the bison herd from which they would harvest an animal, she could hardly believe what she had signed up for. But even more surprising was the realization that experience awakened in her: that life and death are inextricably connected. When we shield ourselves from death-or from any of the hard things in life-we close ourselves off to the beauty and richness of a life fully lived. Radiance of the Ordinary is a collection of stories about leaning into that beauty and richness-through the work we choose to engage with, the way we steward the land and make our homes, the food we put into our bodies, the relationships we cultivate, and the attention we pay to the ordinary moments. After all, we never do know how many of those precious moments we have left to savor"--

Book Synopsis

From the author of the popular Slowdown Farmstead Substack: a raw, poignant collection of essays about cultivating authenticity in this age of great pretend.

When she was young, Tara Couture had a deep fear of death. In her twenties, determined to manifest her long-time dream of owning a farm, she worked alongside a cattleman whose perspectives on life and death would come to transform her own. When she found herself in the passenger seat of the cattleman's truck out on the Alberta prairie, in search of the bison herd from which they would harvest an animal, she could hardly believe this was the life she was living. But even more surprising was the realization the experience awakened in her: that life and death are inextricably connected. When we shield ourselves from death--or from any of the hard things in life--we close ourselves off to the beauty and richness of a life fully lived.

Full of evocative prose that elicits the smells, tastes, cold winds, and sticky summer sweat of Tara's place in the world, Radiance of the Ordinary elegantly explores the moments both complex and mundane, laden with grief and light with wonderment--from butchering and birthing cows to motherhood and the tragic loss of her youngest daughter. Throughout, the reader is reminded that the work we choose to engage with, the way we make our homes, the food we put into our bodies, the relationships we nurture, and the attention we pay to the ordinary moments--this is what matters. Taken together, these essays provide an unforgettable meditation on what it means to be alive in the twenty-first century.

Review Quotes

"Couture's optimism is hard-won and should appeal to fans of philosophical nature writers like Barry Lopez and Terry Tempest Williams."--Library Journal

"A rare gem sure to inspire the rooted life. Tara will not only speak to your heart and mind, but she'll awaken your subconscious with words that pierce your soul."--Justin Rhodes, author; filmmaker; homesteader

"Tara invites us into her deep intimacy with the world in all its radiant texture--joy and grief, wonder and pain, love and longing. Her writing holds both the weight and the lightness of being, and with it, the reminder that we need both. Through her words, the transcendent becomes grounded, and we're gently called home to ourselves, where the connection we yearn for has been waiting all along."--Kate Kavanaugh, host, Mind, Body, and Soil podcast

"Tara welcomes the reader in with the warmth of an outstretched hand--and one does not want to leave. Even in the depths of grief, she never leaves the reader, never loses us. Hold tight, she seems to say. Do not look away. This is important.
This is a beautiful book, true and necessary. In language that shines and shimmers, Tara shares a life lived with grace, honesty, and most of all, love. This is a book that the world needs."--Heather Heying, coauthor of A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century

"This beautiful book is a new classic in the realm of farm memoirs. A gorgeous collection of essays that read like homilies, immersing the reader in the soft light of the ancient rhythms of family and farming while also offering guidance and steadying words through the harsh realities of the cycle of life. Couture's message: be strong, be productive, notice beauty. This is the farm book we needed for these times."--Larissa Phillips, columnist, The Free Press; farmer, Honey Hollow Farm

About the Author

Tara is a writer and homesteader with a background in nutrition. She and her husband live on Slowdown Farmstead in Ontario, Canada, where they raise the cows, rabbits, ducks, geese, chickens, fruit trees, and vegetable gardens that provide them with most of the food they consume throughout the year. Tara writes about ancestral nutrition, family, homemaking, nature, sovereignty and autonomy, grief and loss, and authenticity on her Substack, Slowdown Farmstead, which has over 23,000 followers.