Kyle T. Kramer

In A Time to Plant, Kyle Kramer tells of his journey as a rural homesteader in southern Indiana. The pages are filled with honesty and wisdom as Kramer examines his spirituality and his role in the world.

While working on his Master of Divinity at Emory University, Kramer begins to question whether his plan to become an Episcopal priest is truly his vocation. His love for gardening and his desire to live simply as a steward of the earth lead him to begin a search for land near his childhood home in southern Indiana.

As Kramer began his venture, he often fell into bouts of anger, resentment, and despair. Though he was aware it would not be easy, the hard work required for a simple, sustainable lifestyle left him little time for his family and was far from the idyllic rural life he longed for. He eventually accepts that the time is not right for him to be a full time farmer, and while he remains devoted to his land and home, he also finds fulfillment in his job at St. Meinrad, a nearby Benedictine monastery and seminary.

His tone is neither self-righteous nor judgmental, as Kramer realizes he is far from perfect and his lifestyle choices far from sustainable. The world is one of great ambiguity and our choices are not always simple. He recognizes the gray areas where hope meets despair, idealism clashes with reality, and success collides with failure.

While Kramer expresses little hope that the world will ever be healed through any individual or communal action, he does leave the reader feeling that how we choose to live does matter. Though it often doesn't make sense,he continues to hope because life is "infinitely precious and valuable in some mysterious way [he] cannot fully fathom."
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