Animal, Vegetable, Miracle : A Year of Food Life

“A profound, graceful, and literary work of philosophy and economics, well tempered for our times, and yet timeless. . . . It will change the way you look at the food you put into your body. Which is to say, it can change who you are.” — Boston Globe

From acclaimed author Barbara Kingsolver—recipient of numerous literary awards including the Pulitzer Prize, the National Humanities Medal, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguish Contribution to American Letters, a captivating tale that describes her family's adventure as they move to a farm in southern Appalachia and realign their lives with the local food chain

Since its publication more than a decade ago, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle has riveted readers with its blend of memoir and journalistic investigation. Updated with original pieces from the entire Kingsolver clan, this commemorative edition explores how the family's original project has been carried forward through the years.

When Kingsolver and her family moved from suburban Arizona to rural Appalachia, they took on a new challenge: to spend a year eating a locally-produced diet, paying close attention to the provenance of all they consumed. Concerned about the environmental, social, and physical costs of American food culture, they hoped to recover what Kingsolver considers our nation's lost appreciation for farms and the natural processes of food production. Since 2007, their scheme has evolved enormously. Kingsolver's husband, Steven, discusses how the project grew into a farm-to-table restaurant and community development project training young farmers in their area to move into sustainable food production. Camille Kingsolver writes about her decision to move back to a rural area after college, and how she and her husband incorporate their food values in their lives as they begin their new family. Lily Kingsolver writes about how growing up on a farm, in touch with natural processes and food chains, has shaped her life as a future environmental scientist. And Barbara writes about their sheep, and how they grew into her second vocation as a fiber artist, and reports on the enormous response they've received from other home-growers and local-food devotees.

With Americans' ever-growing concern over an agricultural establishment that negatively affects our health and environment, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is a modern classic that will endure for years to come. 

Barbara Kingsolver is the author of ten bestselling works of fiction, including the novels Unsheltered, The Bean Trees, and The Poisonwood Bible, as well as books of poetry, essays, creative nonfiction, and Coyote’s Wild Home, a children’s book co-authored with Lily Kingsolver. She also collaborated with family members on the influential Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. Kingsolver’s work has been translated into more than thirty languages and has earned a devoted readership at home and abroad. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and has received numerous awards and honors including the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel, Demon Copperhead, the National Humanities Medal, and most recently, the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. She lives with her husband on a farm in southern Appalachia.

Camille Kingsolver graduated from Duke University in 2009 and currently works in the mental health field. She is an active advocate for the local-food movement, doing public speaking for young adults of her own generation navigating food choices in a difficult economy. She lives in Asheville, N.C., and grows a vegetable garden in her front yard.

Steven L. Hopp was trained in life sciences and received his PhD from Indiana University. He has published papers in bioacoustics, ornithology, animal behavior and more recently in sustainable agriculture. He is the founder and director of the Meadowview Farmers Guild, a community development project that includes a local foods restaurant and general store that source their products locally. He teaches at Emory & Henry College in the Environmental Studies department. He coauthored Animal, Vegetable, Miracle with Barbara Kingsolver and Camille Kingsolver.