Rural Free, first published in 1961, beautifully conveys the joys offamily life on an Indiana farm. Marked by the slow pace and rich variety of seasonalchange, Rachel Peden's narrative offers an authentic month-by-month chronicle of herfamily's daily adventures. Today, as the slow-food movement gathers support and moreurban dwellers return to the land to plant roots again in honest soil, Peden'sstories of country life and her lessons on sustainability, frugality, andwastefulness gain a special resonance. Rural Free will be a source of inspirationfor all who rejoice in rural virtues and the spiritual freedom of countrylife.