The award-winning author of Life Is Good is back with another feel-good collection of essays, both humorous and inspiring, about life in rural America that includes 40 of her favorite sweet and savory holiday recipes! A transplanted New Yorker, Nancy Carey Johnson has made a happy life with her husband, whom she lovingly calls “Grizzly Adams,” and four sons in Vermont—raising them to manhood by feeding them well and frequently on hearty, wholesome country cooking, which is especially abundant in her household from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day.

Nancy’s love of music graces these pages. She reminisces about singing at the church of her youth and caroling with neighbors. An astute observer, she has yarns to tell about being in line at her rural post office, the pleasure of finding fresh critter tracks in the snow, the wonder of kids playing with an Advent calendar, and the correct way to water a fir tree. Telling touching and funny stories is how traditions are passed down from generation to generation.

If you want a recipe for a classic Bûche de Noël, roast turkey, or cinnamon buns, and notes on caring for large, rambunctious dogs, and the delights of night sledding, stringing popcorn and cranberries, or snuggling indoors with a cup of cocoa and a good book in a flannel nightie on a cold winter’s night, then this is an ideal read for you. Keep it on your bedside table, so you can laugh yourself to sleep.