Uprooted: Recovering the Legacy of the Places We've Left Behind

Grace Olmstead

ISBN 10: 0593084020 / ISBN 13: 9780593084021

Verlag: Penguin Publishing Group Mär 2021, 2021

Beschreibung

Neuware - In a poignant memoir, a young journalist wrestles with what we owe the places we've left behind. In the tiny farmtown of Emmett, Idaho, there are two kinds of people: those who leave and those who stay. Those who leave go in search of greener pastures, better jobs, and college. Those who stay are left to contend with thinning communities, punishing government farm policy, and environmental decay. Grace Olmstead is one who left, and in her debut memoir she examines the heartbreaking consequences of her decision-and those of people like her-for heartland America. In Uprooted, Olmstead, now a journalist in Washington, D.C., wrestles with the question of what we owe the places we come from: How do we square our desire for self-improvement, economic opportunity and growth with the damage and brain drain left in our wake She tells the stories of townspeople who no longer know each other, of high schoolers who want to get away, and contrasts them with the struggles of the few stickers who have tried to put down roots. She delves into the government policies and Big Agriculture practices that make it almost impossible for America's farmtowns to survive. And she paints a dark picture of what will happen, not just to Emmett, but to America, if we become a nation where, blown around by market whims and individual preferences, no one stays. Ultimately, Olmstead presents us with the question facing many young Americans. What are we willing to sacrifice in exchange for belonging to the place we're from Drawing on her grandparents' example, she suggests habits and practices that cultivate rootedness wherever one may be, but she refuses to sugarcoat the tragic truth that all transplants face: some things, once lost, cannot be recovered.

Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 9780593084021

Bibliografische Details

• Titel: Uprooted: Recovering the Legacy of the Places We've Left Behind
• Verlag: Penguin Publishing Group Mär 2021
• Erscheinungsjahr: 2021
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN-10: 0593084020
• ISBN-13: 9780593084021
• Einband: Buch
• Zustand: Neu
• Abmessungen: 237B x 161 H x 27 T Millimeter Breite: 237 mm, Höhe: 161 mm, Tiefe: 27 mm
• Gewicht: 463 Gramm

Über diesen Titel

Inhaltsangabe

"A superior exploration of the consequences of the hollowing out of our agricultural heartlands."—Kirkus Reviews

In the tradition of Wendell Berry, a young writer wrestles with what we owe the places we’ve left behind. 
 
In the tiny farm town of Emmett, Idaho, there are two kinds of people: those who leave and those who stay. Those who leave go in search of greener pastures, better jobs, and college. Those who stay are left to contend with thinning communities, punishing government farm policy, and environmental decay.
 
Grace Olmstead, now a journalist in Washington, DC, is one who left, and in Uprooted, she examines the heartbreaking consequences of uprooting—for Emmett, and for the greater heartland America. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Uprooted wrestles with the questions of what we owe the places we come from and what we are willing to sacrifice for profit and progress.
 
As part of her own quest to decide whether or not to return to her roots, Olmstead revisits the stories of those who, like her great-grandparents and grandparents, made Emmett a strong community and her childhood idyllic. She looks at the stark realities of farming life today, identifying the government policies and big agriculture practices that make it almost impossible for such towns to survive. And she explores the ranks of Emmett’s newcomers and what growth means for the area’s farming tradition.
 
Avoiding both sentimental devotion to the past and blind faith in progress, Olmstead uncovers ways modern life attacks all of our roots, both metaphorical and literal. She brings readers face to face with the damage and brain drain left in the wake of our pursuit of self-improvement, economic opportunity, and so-called growth. Ultimately, she comes to an uneasy conclusion for herself: one can cultivate habits and practices that promote rootedness wherever one may be, but: some things, once lost, cannot be recovered.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Grace Olmstead is a journalist who focuses on farming, localism, and family. Her writing has been published in The American Conservative, The Week, The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Review, The Wall Street Journal, and Christianity Today, among others. A native of rural Idaho, she now lives outside of Washington, DC, with her husband and three children.