I read Sharon Butala's best selling book The Perfection of the Morning some time in the 1990s and it has stuck with me ever since. Her story of leaving a life as an academic in Saskatoon and moving to a remote corner of Saskatchewan when she married in her mid 30s struck a chord with me. I also made a pretty significant life change in middle age so I felt a kinship. However it was her descriptions of the land and the hard but rewarding life as a rancher that really were memorable. In this book she picks up the story of her life as she went through another change, that of becoming a widow and moving off the land.

Peter and Sharon Butala did not have any children although Sharon had a son with her previous husband. Since there were no offspring to take over the ranch it was a conundrum how to manage the land when they were no longer able to do so. They came up with a novel solution. The Nature Conservancy took over the ranch land that was mostly native prairie and it now is the home of a herd of plains bison. The land also supports wildlife, many of whom are endangered. So when Peter died there was not as much land to manage but Sharon knew that she would have to leave and move somewhere else. She chose to move to Calgary where her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren lived. Even in the midst of a big city she managed to find natural surroundings to walk, allowing her to continue her connection to nature. She feels that connection is vital to her well-being and also to her writing. As people become increasingly disconnected from the rural life it is instructive to learn how to maintain a connection to nature.

As always, Sharon's writing is beautiful. However, you need to also spend some time gazing at this book cover. It is truly a work of art. ( )