Grounded: A Senator's Lessons on Winning Back Rural America

by Jon Tester

Overview

An inspiring and eye-opening memoir showing how Democrats can reconnect with rural and red-state voters, from Montana’s three-term democratic senator

Senator Jon Tester is a rare voice in Congress. He is the only United States senator who manages a full-time job outside of the Senate—as a farmer. But what has really come to distinguish Tester in the Senate is his commitment to accountability, his ability to stand up to Donald Trump, and his success in, time and again, winning red state voters back to the Democratic Party. 

In Grounded, Tester shares his early life, his rise in the Democratic party, his vision for helping rural America, and his strategies for reaching red state voters. Leaning deeply into lessons on the value of authenticity and hard work that he learned growing up on his family’s 1,800-acre farm near the small town of Big Sandy, Montana—the same farm he continues to work today with his wife, Sharla—Tester has made his political career a testament to crossing the divides of class and geography. The media and Democrats too often discount rural people as Trump supporters; Tester knows better. His voice is vital to the public discourse as we seek to understand the issues that are important to rural and working-class America in not just the 2020 election but also for years to come. 

A heartfelt and inspiring memoir from a courageous voice, Grounded shows us that the biggest threat to our democracy isn’t a president who has no moral compass. It’s politicians who don’t understand the value of accountability and hard work. Tester demonstrates that if American democracy is to survive, we must put our trust in the values that keep us grounded.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062977496
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/06/2023
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	522,956
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Jon Tester is a third-generation farmer and a US senator representing Montana. He and his wife Sharla operate the same farm near Big Sandy, Montana, homesteaded by Tester’s maternal grand­parents more than a century ago. Elected to the US Senate in 2006, Tester serves on the Appropriations, Commerce, Indian Affairs, and Banking committees. He is also the ranking member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Grit, Glue, and a Meat Grinder 11

Chapter 2 Pickin' Rock 31

Chapter 3 24 Notes 43

Chapter 4 Falling Down, Marrying Up, Taking Over 61

Chapter 5 A Slow-Burning Fuse 77

Chapter 6 Preservers of the Past 93

Chapter 7 A Peterbilt and a Prius 113

Chapter 8 My One-Eared Dog 131

Chapter 9 More Zeroes 153

Chapter 10 A Farmers Guide to the US Senate 179

Chapter 11 When We Need the Government… and When We Don't 203

Chapter 12 Sleeping over a Volcano 221

Chapter 13 The Maverick 237

Chapter 14 "Khaihawana Punk" and Other Game Changers 261

Chapter 15 Holes in Soles 277

Chapter 16 Whistleblowers Within 295

Chapter 17 How to Pronounce "Montana" 313

Epilogue: Gone the Sun 339

Acknowledgments 357

Notes 359

Index 391

Editorial Reviews

"Why do most Democrats keep faring so poorly in rural America? Mr. Tester, a farmer from Big Sandy, Mont. — and the only full-time farmer in the Senate — has a few ideas. He lays them out at length in Grounded, a memoir that doubles as a policy manifesto." — New York Times

“Candid and appealing. . . . Tester relates his unique personal story with plainspoken charm, and offers helpful advice for red-state Democrats. This political memoir stands apart from the pack.” — Publishers Weekly

“Politics junkies, especially those following Western issues, will enjoy Tester’s fluent storytelling.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Jon Tester and I were raised in the same small town of Big Sandy, Montana.  He has an authentic and unique perspective of America that should never be ignored. This is a story about the truest way we can progress as a nation, and to hold our government accountable, without dismissing the beating heart and working soul of those who live in rural America. Nobody cares more than Jon.” — Jeff Ament, Pearl Jam

“‘Remember those who work with their hands’ is one of Jon Tester’s guiding principles. As the only farmer in the U.S. Senate, Tester has fought for a food system that’s independent, sustainable, and free of corporate domination. The values that he embodies could not be more important today, more relevant—or more endangered by the greed of multinational corporations. In this book you will find a deep respect for the traditions of the American heartland and a guide for how this country can become more prosperous, more fair, and more compassionate in the future.” — Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation

"Jon Tester is the essence of a true Montanan. He works hard, stands up to bullies, helps his neighbors, and does it all with such authentic empathy, Democrats and Republicans alike in a deeply red state continue to proudly call him their Senator. His story is one of bravery. Of tirelessly fighting for justice while learning to do better. He is, truly, a fine example of what makes America great." — Stephanie Land, New York Times bestselling author of Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and A Mother’s Will to Survive

"Jon is a farmer, a teacher, and an advocate for causes that I believe in. He is open minded, open handed, fair. and authentic. He is a beacon for promoting good in the world.” — Jeff Bridges 

“Jon Tester shares with the reader some refreshingly honest and straightforward lessons on life and leadership. In Grounded, this farmer-senator reminds us why authenticity, bipartisanship, and honest leadership still play an important role in our government. This is a powerful contribution to us all at a defining time in our country and the world.” — Former U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, and author of America: Our Next Chapter

From the Publisher

07/20/2020

Montana senator Tester’s candid and appealing debut interweaves autobiography and insights into the issues and values that resonate with rural voters. In addition to serving in Congress as a Democrat, Tester manages the family farm started by his grandfather in 1912. He vividly describes losing three fingers in a childhood accident at the farm’s butcher shop, and recalls attending college on a music scholarship; marrying his wife a few months after they started “going steady”; and taking over the farm at age 21 in 1978. After serving on the local school board and in the state senate, Tester won election to the U.S. Senate in 2006. He highlights his advocacy for veterans and writes poignantly about how his relationship with his son, who is gay, helped to change his views on LGBTQ rights. Tester was reelected in 2018—despite being in the middle of a spat with the White House over Trump’s nominee for secretary of veterans affairs—and suggests that his fellow Democrats need to relearn “how to speak to the folks who shower at the end of the day.” Tester relates his unique personal story with plainspoken charm, and offers helpful advice for red-state Democrats. This political memoir stands apart from the pack. Agent: Julie Stevenson, Massie & McQuilkin Literary Agents. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"Jon Tester is the essence of a true Montanan. He works hard, stands up to bullies, helps his neighbors, and does it all with such authentic empathy, Democrats and Republicans alike in a deeply red state continue to proudly call him their Senator. His story is one of bravery. Of tirelessly fighting for justice while learning to do better. He is, truly, a fine example of what makes America great."

Stephanie Land

‘Remember those who work with their hands’ is one of Jon Tester’s guiding principles. As the only farmer in the U.S. Senate, Tester has fought for a food system that’s independent, sustainable, and free of corporate domination. The values that he embodies could not be more important today, more relevant—or more endangered by the greed of multinational corporations. In this book you will find a deep respect for the traditions of the American heartland and a guide for how this country can become more prosperous, more fair, and more compassionate in the future.

Eric Schlosser

Jon Tester and I were raised in the same small town of Big Sandy, Montana.  He has an authentic and unique perspective of America that should never be ignored. This is a story about the truest way we can progress as a nation, and to hold our government accountable, without dismissing the beating heart and working soul of those who live in rural America. Nobody cares more than Jon.

Jeff Ament

Jon Tester shares with the reader some refreshingly honest and straightforward lessons on life and leadership. In Grounded, this farmer-senator reminds us why authenticity, bipartisanship, and honest leadership still play an important role in our government. This is a powerful contribution to us all at a defining time in our country and the world.

Former U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel

"Jon is a farmer, a teacher, and an advocate for causes that I believe in. He is open minded, open handed, fair. and authentic. He is a beacon for promoting good in the world.

Jeff Bridges 

"Why do most Democrats keep faring so poorly in rural America? Mr. Tester, a farmer from Big Sandy, Mont. — and the only full-time farmer in the Senate — has a few ideas. He lays them out at length in Grounded, a memoir that doubles as a policy manifesto."

New York Times

"Jon is a farmer, a teacher, and an advocate for causes that I believe in. He is open minded, open handed, fair. and authentic. He is a beacon for promoting good in the world.

null Jeff Bridges 

04/01/2020

A three-term Democratic senator from Montana, Tester shows by example how his party can reclaim the allegiance of rural voters and working-class people; after all, he handily won his last election while pitted against a heavily funded candidate who had Trump's direct support. Seen as a unifier, Tester argues for accountability and proves to have bedrock values; he's the only senator with a full-time job outside the Senate, managing his 1,800-acre farm, in his family for more than a century. With a 150,000-copy first printing.

Library Journal

2020-06-30
The Montana senator recounts the rough and tumble of the political life.

Tester, a farmer from the high plains of north-central Montana, is known to most casual observers as the senator with the flattop haircut. He is more than that. As he writes, with undisguised pride, he is “one of the few citizens of this nation who has successfully held Donald Trump accountable without suffering politically for it.” He did so, at first, by opposing the nomination of Trump’s personal doctor to be the head of the Veterans Administration in committee, suspecting that someone nicknamed “Candyman” for his easy dispensation of prescription drugs might not be the best choice. Trump swore vengeance at the polls, but Montana voters, despite having gone for Trump over Hillary Clinton, still returned Tester, a Democrat, to the Senate in the last election. Tester writes of his engagement with politics, which began at the local level as a member of his small town’s school board and expanded to incorporate national issues in a number of areas, particularly agriculture. The author is mostly affable and forgiving, though he harbors a touch of scorn for a few opponents—to say nothing of Trump himself and Don Jr., whom he usually refers to as “his greasy-haired kid.” Tester has a good sense of humor, laughing at a hapless political foe who ran an ad with a doctored photograph of Tester shaking hands with Barack Obama, showing the senator to have a full suite of fingers when, in fact, he’s missing three of them as the result of a farm accident. Even so, he writes, he’s since sat next to that opponent on plane rides. “We get along,” he avers, “as most Montanans do when they check politics at the door.” Politics, for all that, are at the heart of this book, manifested in such ways as Tester’s disdain for dark money, the sitting president, Ryan Zinke, and assorted other bugaboos.

Politics junkies, especially those following Western issues, will enjoy Tester’s fluent storytelling.

Kirkus Reviews