I've been dreaming of this day for YEARS... My new book, Old-Fashioned on Purpose, is finally entering the world this week! To celebrate, I'm reading the Introduction here on the podcast today. And, we're extending all the preorder bonuses until the end of this week.
So, there's still a few days left to grab my full Heritage Cooking Crash Course and eBooks for $0 when you order your copy. Thanks SO much to everyone who has ordered it so far. Be sure to tag me on IG when your copy arrives!
To preorder my Old Fashioned on Purpose book:
Step 1: Preorder from your favorite bookstore (Barnes & Nobles, Amazon, Bookshop.org, etc.)
Step 2: Take a screenshot of your receipt and go to www.oldfashionedbook.com and scroll down to the section titled “Preordering is as Simple as 1,2,3” and fill out those steps
Step 3: Get an email from me with TONS of bonus materials including my Heritage Cooking Crash Course
Want a signed copy from me? Preorder through Wind City Books, a small Wyoming bookstore. Preorder from them here: https://www.windcitybooks.com/book/9780778334217
If you order through www.bookshop.org use the code OLDFASHIONED for 10% off
Learn more about my new book on these podcast episodes:
Have a message you want to share with the world? Apply to be a guest on the Old-Fashioned on Purpose podcast here: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/podcast-guest-application
Weekly musings from my homestead: http://theprairiehomestead.com/letter
My essays on an old-fashioned life: www.prairiephilosophy.com
My homesteading tutorials & recipes: www.theprairiehomestead.com
Our Wyoming-raised, grass-finished beef: http://genuinebeefco.com
Jill on Twitter: http://twitter.com/homesteader
Jill on Instagram: @jill.winger
Jill on Facebook: http://facebook.com/theprairiehomestead
I've been dreaming of this day for YEARS... My new book, Old-Fashioned on Purpose, is finally entering the world this week! To celebrate, I'm reading the Introduction here on the podcast today. And, we're extending all the preorder bonuses until the end of this week.
So, there's still a few days left to grab my full Heritage Cooking Crash Course and eBooks for $0 when you order your copy. Thanks SO much to everyone who has ordered it so far. Be sure to tag me on IG when your copy arrives!
To preorder my Old Fashioned on Purpose book:
Step 1: Preorder from your favorite bookstore (Barnes & Nobles, Amazon, Bookshop.org, etc.)
Step 2: Take a screenshot of your receipt and go to www.oldfashionedbook.com and scroll down to the section titled “Preordering is as Simple as 1,2,3” and fill out those steps
Step 3: Get an email from me with TONS of bonus materials including my Heritage Cooking Crash Course
Want a signed copy from me? Preorder through Wind City Books, a small Wyoming bookstore. Preorder from them here: https://www.windcitybooks.com/book/9780778334217
If you order through www.bookshop.org use the code OLDFASHIONED for 10% off
Learn more about my new book on these podcast episodes:
Have a message you want to share with the world? Apply to be a guest on the Old-Fashioned on Purpose podcast here: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/podcast-guest-application
Weekly musings from my homestead: http://theprairiehomestead.com/letter
My essays on an old-fashioned life: www.prairiephilosophy.com
My homesteading tutorials & recipes: www.theprairiehomestead.com
Our Wyoming-raised, grass-finished beef: http://genuinebeefco.com
Jill on Twitter: http://twitter.com/homesteader
Jill on Instagram: @jill.winger
Jill on Facebook: http://facebook.com/theprairiehomestead
Friends, it is a very exciting week here on the Homestead. In fact, I have been waiting for this week and even this episode in particular for upwards of two years, and that is because. This week is the week when my brand new book finally enters the world. And if you've ever published before you've ever created something, you know that there's a lot of feelings that come with the process of finally publishing, finally launching, finally pushing all of your ideas and all your, your baby of creation out into the world. So I'm feeling all the things. Definitely excited. Um, very ready for everyone to finally get their hands on this'cause it's been in my brain and in my computer, uh, and consuming all of my thoughts for so long. Uh, it feels surreal that the rest of the world can finally read it. As with anything we create, there's also that feeling of nervousness. You know, I, I believe in the book, I love the book. I want it to hit its mark. I want it to resonate with people. I want people to feel inspired. So all the feelings, all the normal things that come when we put ourselves out there. But overall, I. It's excitement. Um, I've given you some glimpses over the past few months and weeks over the behind the scenes process of writing the book. Um, we'll drop those episodes down in the show notes so I don't wanna reinvent the wheel and, and hash all that over again. But needless to say, I'm really excited. Um, and today to celebrate the launch of the book this week, if you're listening to this episode, the day it comes out. Um, then the book will be coming out tomorrow, Tuesday, September 26th, 2023. Uh, if you're listening to this episode later that week or beyond, then the book is out and it is in stores. So I wanna celebrate that by reading the introduction today. Um, live and in the flesh. So I had the privilege of being able to read the audio version of the book, which was super fun. Um, also gave me a Pretty intense sore throat but it was totally worth it just to be able to put my own inflection and, and feeling into the words. I think when an author reads their work, it just, it's a little bit different, a little bit better, so you can go on Audible and grab the full audio version. But today I'm gonna just give you my off the cuff sitting here in my office without an audio engineer version of the introduction. The introduction is actually one of my favorite parts of the whole book, to be quite honest. I love the opening paragraph in particular. I actually had it. Elsewhere in the book, and I loved it so much. I brought it up to the front because I really think it encapsulates what so many of us are feeling, um, these days. Whether you're an established homesteader or you are just curious about what this would look like for you and how you can bring these principles into your life. So I'll get into the intro in just a moment. Um, for those of you who haven't been following along with the book journey, and you're curious if the book is for you or not, A little bit of background of why I wrote this. As many of you know, I've taught practical home setting skills for well over a decade. I'm very well known for teaching people how to can and do sourdough bread, and do raised bed gardening and all of those things. And I love the practical how to, that's really my bread and butter. It's, it's, um, helped me reach a lot of really awesome people by teaching those skills. However, over the years as I've taught these skills and also seen what living Old fashioned on purpose. That's what I call it. What living old fashioned on purpose has done for me and my family. It has truly changed my life in every single way. I know that's cliche, but that is the only way I know how to express it. It has genuinely changed how I see all of life, how I make decisions, how I move through life, um, how I make a living, how I educate my children. These principles have been so valuable to me and I've started to see them as Reaching far beyond just this world of homesteading and sourdough bread and heirloom tomatoes, and I've started to realize it's not just a hobby or a pastime for the few weirdos like you and I, who like old fashioned things. Really, the homesteading movement encapsulate a set of skills and mindsets and principles that are just. Keeping us human, quite honestly. They're human skills and human characteristics that are really easy to lose track of in our world, that is so obsessed with progress, um, and ease and convenience. And so as I started to look at bringing these principles to a wider audience, I kind of was sitting with this tension for honestly, a couple years of thinking. I, I know these principles need to go out to everyone, but I also know that not everyone's going to be Wanting to or able to go buy a hundred acres in a milk cow, right? Like, like I did. So I don't believe that you need to have a full fledged, just add water homestead and a cool old farmhouse to stay grounded and centered with these old fashioned practices. So that premise is what I continue to dig into, and that's ultimately what became the book. Um, It's a book about homesteading, but it's bigger than that. It's actually a book about staying human in a world that's increasingly, um, not built for us as humans. It's a, it's a world that's pushing us more towards machines and technology and this religion of industrialism, and I just wanted to spend some time as I wrote the book and, and think about how we can. Hold true and stay close to the things that really matter. So that was the impetus for the book. It was quite the process. And I've talked about the process a little bit here and there, so I won't belabor the point. A lot of research, um, it wasn't the typical, throwing some canning tutorials and recipes, um, or, you know, things I've already created in a new format. And going from there, it was really coming up with fresh concepts, pulling ideas, and, and figuring out how they intersect. The cool thing I discovered, I think one of my favorite parts of the process of writing the book was how many of the principles that people like you and I, us homestead minded people, or us old fashioned minded people. The, the principles that we love and that we hold to, they're, they're woven throughout history. These, of course, are not new principles. That's why we love them. But you can see, um, the truth of them throughout history, throughout science, throughout a lot of studies and data. And it was just like finding, um, a treasure every single time I'd come across another study or another bit of research that was just kind of proving what we already know to be true. We don't need data to tell us that we feel better when we're out in the soil. But it's pretty cool when it confirms, uh, what's happening in our brains and our bodies when we're using our hands, when we're kneading the bread dough, when we're plunging our fingers into the earth. And so I found it very gratifying and kinda like a treasure hunt to go find those bits and pieces. And so I brought so many of those into the book, um, and they became the eight pillars of the book, the eight chapters of the book that help guide you through the process of becoming old fashioned on purpose, which really is just. A bigger sense of awareness and moving through life with intention, and those are the things that can be done, whether you have a hundred acre homestead or you have a little backyard where you're trying to grow some tomatoes in a bucket. So that's the scoop. I can't wait for everyone to read it. I know a bunch of you have pre-ordered, which means the book should be coming to your mailbox this week. Um, you could also pre-order on Audible. I dunno how that works. I'm assuming it just shows up in your Audible account on the day of publish, which is September 26th, but it'll be coming. Please, please, please share. Pictures of the book. Um, tag me when it comes. Let me know what you think once you start reading. I'm interested in exploring the idea of doing a book club for it a little bit later this fall when I kind of recover from all the, the activity around launching. Um, but I can't wait for you to hold it in your hands. So shall we dive in to the introduction? Let's do it. Alright. So, The book is dedicated, uh, for those willing to ask bold questions of the world. One of the themes that shows up in the book time and time again is the ability to ask questions. I find one of the traits of old fashioned minded people like you and I, one of the traits I love the most about people like that is we're not afraid to ask questions. Sometimes uncomfortable questions, questions that the rest of the world isn't willing to ask, and we dive into those. And so Much of this book is about questions. Alright, we have an In A Forward by Rory Fike. I'm gonna not gonna read that today. I'm gonna let you read that once you get your copy. But here is the introduction of the book. Hold on. I'm gonna let my dog in'cause he's scratching. One moment. Okay. There's something rippling through humanity right now. It's not a trend, but a craving, a longing, a remembering, a sense that we are more capable than we've been led to believe a whisper that there could be another path. One that's less traveled but brimming with possibilities that make us feel awake, not sedated. It's not the first time this stirring has visited us. It appears whenever society threatens to lose its moorings. Whenever we become so whipped into a frenzy by fear, panic, or term turmoil, that we lose our way. This still small voice taps us on the shoulder and prompts us to pause, to return to the things that matter, to ground ourselves in the rhythms of the earth. To remember from when we came. It appeared during the Great Depression as financial chaos pushed thousands to the country. It occurred in the 1970s when societal unrest in the Vietnam War spurred the back to the land movement, and it's happening again at this very moment. I started feeling these tugs as a little girl, but I didn't know what to do with them. After all the old fashioned notions that visited my imagination weren't rational, they weren't accepted, and they certainly weren't normal. But 14 years ago, I finally heated their call. As a result, I now live a peculiar hybrid life. On one hand, I'm probably not much different than any other modern mom of three. A robot vacuums my floors. My online business relies on high tech apps and software. I listen to audiobooks while I drive my kids to basketball practice. Yet I also dig potatoes for supper from my backyard. My basement is lined with jars of food. I've grown and canned myself. I capture wild yeast, fert cabbage on my kitchen counters cure hams and render lard for pie crusts. I also know how to butcher a chicken, ride a horse Tampa fence post, build a fire, and create my own soap. These old fashioned parts of my life would hardly have been worth mentioning a century ago. But in the age of virtual reality, cryptocurrencies and Uber Eats, they seem wild and revolutionary. I didn't grow up practicing most of these retro skills, but their second nature to me now, the thought of an existence without farm animals, barn chores, and ever present kitchen projects rarely crosses my mind. Each year I take stock of our life and ask myself. Should we continue? Do these vintage ways still serve us? Are these pursuits worth the extra time they take? And each year, the answer is a resounding yes, but not for the most obvious reasons. Sure. I love the taste of crisp garden veggies, the scent of freshly cut hay and the sound of roosters in the morning and the side of my kids running through the barnyard. That's not why I continue. Rather, I persevere in these heritage skills because they're much more than the sum of their parts. I forge ahead for the rewards that stretch beyond what I can taste, see, and touch. This lifestyle grounds me when the world feels like a whirlwind. When offers meditation during chaos, a healthy dose of adventure, and a quiet confidence. Born from trusting your abilities. These time honored practices remind me of what truly matters and I reach for them whenever I'm craving balance and solace. Over the decades, this idea of returning to the land and our roots has been given a variety of titles, but I've never loved any of them. I've used the term homesteading for years, but believe it or not, it gets muddied by the idea that participants can still find free land. The Homestead Act was repealed in 1976, or that a modern homesteader must live off grid or own hundreds of acres. None of these assumptions are true. It's time for a better definition. For me, this is a mindset. It's about stripping away the baggage of our modern lives, recognizing the problems of progress, moving through this world with intention. Resisting rampant consumerism, living lightly and consciously, and being rooted in community. If I could give everyone five acres and a milk cow, I would, but that's not possible. And honestly, it's not even necessary. This is a mentality that anyone can adopt no matter where they live. It has absolutely nothing to do with how much land you own or what types of farm animals you keep. So what should we call it? I like the term old fashioned on purpose for several reasons. To me, old fashioned doesn't mean out of date or out of touch. Rather, it's a clue that something of value is just under the surface waiting to be discovered. Our family and others like us aren't old fashioned because we don't know any better or because it's our only option. Or because we resist change, or because a particular social or religious circle has conditioned us to avoid mainstream culture. Instead, this is a conscious choice we've made to reclaim meaningful ideas that have been discarded in the name of progress and restore them to a place of value in our modern day today. This process will look radically different depending on each person's situation, but regardless of how you make this shift, It has the potential to change your life just like it has mine. The homestead remains my greatest teacher, the epiphanies. It's granted me continue to shape every part of my perspective. Throughout the following pages, I'll distill down the most impactful lessons I've gleaned so you can make them your own. In part one, we'll dissect the past to discover how we got off track as a culture and find clues to help us move forward. In part two, we'll weave the past with the present by identifying the eight principles of the old fashioned on purpose lifestyle that you can adopt no matter where you live. We'll dive into the how of growing your own ingredients, cooking from scratch, working with your hands, stepping away from the synthetic, unplugging from technology, caring for the earth, fostering independence in our children and cultivating community. But more importantly, we'll discuss the why. While the technical aspects of these skills are important, it's this deeper intention that will sustain you when challenges arise. The why transforms these quaint practices into life changing propositions, and that's when the magic truly begins. So if you felt curious about how things used to be disenchanted with the complexities of modern life or just strangely drawn to sourdough bread, you're in exactly. So there you have it, friends, the introduction. Um, hope you enjoy that. I can't wait for you to read the rest or listen to the rest. I will say I've had a lot of requests on how to get autographed copies, so there's a couple ways you can do that. If you're gonna be at Homesteaders of America, uh, in just a few weeks, I'll be signing and selling books there. You can also come by the Soda Fountain if you're in southeast Wyoming, and I'll have autographed copies there. And if you're nowhere near either of those places, the one place that you can have an autographed version shipped to you, um, is Wind City Books in Casper, Wyoming, and you don't have to live in Casper, Wyoming. But if you go to their website and order, they're gonna have all of the books that come from them with an autograph book plate. I signed a whole bunch of book plates um, a couple months ago, and so they have all the book plates. They're the only store doing, um, shipping of autograph copies, and I wanted it to be an independent bookstore'cause I love independent bookstores. So go check them out. We'll put a link in the show notes, wind City Books if you'd like an autographed copy shipped to you. And I just wanted to let you know we are extending the pre-order bonuses through the end of this week. So I've mentioned it on a previous episode, I think, but I'm giving away a ton of stuff, like an insane amount of stuff to anyone who pre-orders or orders through launch week, right? And you're gonna get my full length Heritage Cooking Crash course. Like the whole course, it's a$200 course, you get it for free. Um, there's wall art, there's a sourdough, uh, no stress sourdough guide. There's a, a giant home dairy recipe booklet that I use. All my home dairy recipes are in there. Um, you're gonna get all of that for free when you pre-order. And so that's gonna be good until the end of launch week this week. And then that's, those bonuses are gonna go away. You can still buy the book, but the bonuses will be gone. Um, so the way you do that is, number one, you order the book. From your favorite retailer, like, I hope you get it from a local bookstore, but if you don't have a local bookstore, you can do, um, Barnes and Noble. Amazon Target, uh, indigo and bookshop.org is actually a really awesome option because they support independent bookstores. And if you don't have one in your town, that's a great way to kind of get the, spread the wealth a little bit. So if you do order from bookshop.org and you use co code, old fashioned, all one word, smoosh it together, you get 10% off. So just a little shout out there, bookshop.org or any of the other places you buy books. So order it there. Then go to old fashioned book.com. That's my website. Scroll down the page, put in your email and your proof of purchase, and then we'll get you access to all those bonuses. So it's a little tricky because how, uh, how the publishing world works. Like Amazon doesn't know I'm offering bonuses, right? So you're not gonna get the bonuses straight from Amazon. You have to get it from me. So order from whatever target, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, local bookstore. Do that transaction through them, then come back to me and I'll make sure you get the bonuses with the proof of purchase. So it's kind of convoluted, but unfortunately that's kind of how it goes with the publishing world. Um, there's the retailers and there's the publisher and they all have different, uh, roles in the process. So anyway, I. I'm so excited for you to get this book, my friend. Thank you so, so much to everyone who has pre-ordered. Um, the orders that come before pub date, before the publish date and that come the week of the published date are often the most important orders to a book. Success is just how the industry works, but when retailers and media outlets see that a book has a lot of pre-orders, or it's getting a lot of traction, that first week of its life that Gets the snowball rolling for more momentum in the book's life later on. So to everyone who's pre-ordered, there have been many, many, many of you. I am so grateful. Thank you so much for doing that. I know it's not as much fun to pre-order because you don't have the instant gratification of getting the book in two days, but it means a lot to me and it's helped the book so so much. So thank you for that. And there's still time to grab it early if you wanna order it this week and get all the goodies. So anyway, tag me and post the book on uh, your social. Platforms if you feel so inclined once it arrives in the mail. I can't wait to have conversations with you about this book in the coming days and weeks. And thank you again for all the support, my friends. We will catch up on the next episode of The Old Fashioned On Purpose Podcast.