Hannah Coulter; by Wendell Berry

I read Hannah Coulter in nearly one sitting on the plane ride home from Tacoma, WA. Some dear friends gave us this book as a wedding present and I think I will forever acquaint Hannah’s story with theirs. Hannah was thoughtful, wise, and truthful and so are they.

The words of this story felt good in my heart and reading this book felt more like drinking in cool water on a hot day than taking in lines off a page. This book is the story of an older woman named Hannah Coulter who is recalling the story of her life and it is beautiful. I was wrapped up in her loves, her children, and her life as a farmer’s wife. I confess, I cried at least twice on the plane and kind of wanted to scrap life in the city and move to a farm and make homemade biscuits for breakfast like Grandmam.

It made me want to cherish every moment, to live in them and tuck away the memories. At the end of the book I wanted to take pause and make sure that my life was oriented around the things that I truly valued. That it wouldn’t pass by while I was trying to work on my schedule or find time to make our home warm and welcoming or help my husband with his work or make a meal for the family or have a cup of tea with a friend. I don’t want to make my life a to-do list. I want to live in the middle of it.

I don’t want to forget this story. I think this will be a book I re-read often.

The chance you had is the life you’ve got. You can make complaints about what people, including you, make of their lives after they have got them, and about what people make of other people’s lives…but you mustn’t wish for another life. You mustn’t want to be somebody else. What you must do is this: ‘Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks.’ I am not all the way capable of so much, but those are the right instructions.