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FREE THE GOOD LIFE: HELEN AND SCOTT NEARINGS SIXTY YEARS OF SELF-SUFFICIENT LIVING PDF

Helen Nearing,Scott Nearing | 411 pages | 03 Jan 1990 | Schocken Books | 9780805209709 | English | New York, United States Living the Good Life: How to Live Sanely and Simply in a Troubled World by

Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Scott Nearing. Living the Good Life, like Pond, is deeply rooted in an enduring American tradition of dissent from the majority and respect for the land. Moreover, it is the distillation of twenty--not two--years in the woods, and it offers wisdom and practical guidance to city dweller and prospective homesteader alike. This book is a harvest of congenial and specific advice on har Living the Good Life, like Walden Pond, is deeply rooted in an enduring American tradition of dissent from the majority and respect for the land. This book is a harvest of congenial and specific advice on harmonious rural living, for its authors have proved to themselves--and now to the world--that with hard work and harder common sense, they could take a piece of eroded, stony land and make it bloom and support them. In the process they have achieved something fine for themselves and relevant for everybody. Description from book jacket. Get A Copy. Hardcoverpages. Published June 1st by Schocken Books first published January 1st More Details Other Editions 4. Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Living the Good Lifeplease sign up. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Sep 27, Miles rated it liked it. This book is the first-person account of a determined, conscientious couple who decided to check out of the Great Depression and head to the woods to find a different way of life. It's a fascinating look at the practice of , which Scott and Helen Nearing successfully The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearings Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living for two decades in rural , starting in Although the book feels outdated in some ways, I The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearings Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living pleasantly surprised at how many of the Nearings' insights still hold true today. They were ahead The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearings Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living t This book is the first-person account of a determined, conscientious couple who decided to check out of the Great Depression and head to The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearings Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living woods to find a different way of life. They were ahead of the curve when it came to the health risks of processed foods, the dangers of industrial excess both psychological and ecologicaland the general sense that living in harmony with nature is preferable to using technology to dominate it. To be sure, this is a rather extreme example of homesteading. The Nearings lived a remarkably austere and disciplined lifestyle, one that even their rural neighbors found strange. Some of their philosophical positions, while theoretically defensible, probably wouldn't work for most people. It's important to note that their attempts to nudge their rural community into a kind of unified, collaborative entity were largely unsuccessful. They attributed these failings to various credible causes, but I found myself wondering how much of it had to do with their approach to "living well," which seemed puritanical and dogmatic in a way that I'm sure some people must have found off-putting. I don't think I'd want the Nearings as my local public organizers. But they set out to discover if living happily as subsistence farmers was something that intelligent, middle-aged people could accomplish, and in that respect they appear to have succeeded admirably. My favorite aspect of their model The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearings Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living their daily schedule, which included four hours of "bread labor" in the morning, followed by four hours of "avocational work" in the afternoon. It's a lifestyle I'm hoping to emulate in my own way. This is a good read for anyone curious about the practice of homesteading, and the history of alternative lifestyles in general. Even though I was occasionally annoyed by the rather superior tone of these two adventurers, I have to tip my hat to them for having a dream and working hard to bring it to fruition. View 1 comment. Apr 19, Lauren rated it it was ok. I imagine this book was pretty radical for its time, but I yawned my way through it. Her ideological hiccups were too hard for me to jump over. Anti-capitalist, fine. Anti-meat-eating, fine. Jan 09, Joseph rated it really liked it. May 14, Linda Robinson rated it it was amazing. The Nearings left NY in to create a quiet life, powered by bread labor, muscle, good healthy food - and to liberate themselves from the hurly burly, planet-destroying, warmaking urban world. From the preface: "We were against the accumulation of profit and unearned income by non-producers. They hoped to replace worry and fear with serenity and purpose. They did all that. Scott and Helen Nearing didn't just wander off into the Green Mount The Nearings left NY in to create a quiet life, powered by bread labor, muscle, good healthy food - and to liberate themselves from the hurly burly, planet-destroying, warmaking urban world. Scott and Helen Nearing didn't just wander off into the Green Mountains with a pickax over a shoulder, though; they researched, read, analyzed, asked and investigated how to make their project work; adapting and discarding wisdom into books that delivered their daily routine, and their long-term plan. Notes on tool maintenance and placement, stone house building, crop rotations and elevations; failures, successes all went into the books. Intrinsic to the plan was four hours a day of bread labor, and four hours of whatever activity appealed. Half the year was on the Forest Farm, half traveling and lecturing. Regimen, discipline and a plan created a healthy subsistence life, buildings that survive and dreams and ideas that still appeal. Sep 27, Steve Comstock rated it really liked it. After reading this, I will never be able to apply the word "diligent" to myself again. The level of dedication and rigid devotion the Nearings applied to crafting a new life for themselves is really inspiring. This is not an ideological book, though the authors are obviously ideological people. Their tone was frank and helpful not one of proselytization. Along the way they shared some very helpful information about composting, planning, building with stone, and winter gardening among other thing After reading this, I will never be able to apply the word "diligent" to myself again. Along the way they shared some very helpful information about composting, planning, building with stone, and winter gardening among other things. They also included an extensive bibliography at the end which I am always a sucker for. It honestly inspired me to think more about the quality of my labor, the way my labor relates to my consumption, and the division of my labor amongst bread labor and avocational labor. Apr 01, Mary Wescott rated it really liked it Shelves: book-challenge It's a book I need to buy to make notes! I have a fantasy of living off the grid and being self-sustainable. That seems like an awful lot to do at once, so maybe I'll just start with buying a few chickens and attempting at growing yet another garden! Jul 02, Ryan is currently reading it. The preface alone is a great manifesto for the back to the earth, away from the rat-race lifestyle. Jun 11, Jungsook Chung rated it really liked it. I read the people's book reviews on 'Living the Good Life' by Helen and Scott Nearing and am surprised that this book is said interesting by some of them. I felt the first three chapters are lengthy and boring with too many details since I have no desire or intention to build a house or farm, but I admire and respect the couple's accomplishments. Scott Nearing is thought to follow Gandhi or Tolstoy's way not to chase the world but pursue self sufficient living The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearings Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living. Scott and Helen led a real I read the people's book reviews on 'Living the Good Life' by Helen and Scott Nearing and am surprised that this book is said interesting by some of them. Scott and Helen led a real minimal life style according to wikipedia. I was surprised to find out there was same concerns in s as now about food processingpoisoning and the increase in the use of drugs. It reminds me the concerns in '' by . The couple's diet is too radical; they eat only one kind of food for each meal and use wooden utensils including chopsticks only. Anyway Scott lived to and Helen Maybe their diet and laboring in nature were the reasons. Who knows? The most envious part from their life style is their organizing skills for a day, days, months, a year in advance. I applaud their adjustment capability since they moved from the professor's job to farmers. By publishing many books to educate and enlighten people, they actually didn't seem to have given up teaching. Aug 05, Courtney rated it liked it Shelves: non-fictionThe Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearings Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearing's Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living |

She never ate a hamburger, never took an aspirin, and never used a credit card. For most of her adult life, she had no telephone, radio or television. Helen Nearing was the life partner of Scott Nearing, and together they set the standard for self-sufficiency and . She was a remarkable person in her own right. Helen Nearing was an author, farmer, carpenter, house designer, violinist, stone mason, and a gracious host to people seeking wisdom and life direction by visiting her and Scott. In her life, she showed that you can The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearings Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living do more than you think you can. She was born Helen Knothe in Ridgefield, N. She was a bookish and introverted girl, and trained as a classical violinist. After high school Helen traveled around the world and became close to Hindu philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti. At age 24, she met Scott Nearing, an economics professor who at 45 had made himself unemployable because of his socialist-pacifist views. She The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearings Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living learned no skills for living off the land. The Nearings made the small amount of money they needed from making and selling maple syrup. They grew most of their own food, cut their own wood for heat, and fasted one day a week and for 10 days once a year. There was no electricity. I was there and had the opportunity to meet them. As many as 2, people a year who showed up at their home, usually unannounced. Since Scott was often away lecturing, and was apt to assign chores to visitors when he was there, Helen served as the main host. She said their diet consisted of 35 percent , 50 percent , 10 percent protein and 5 percent fat. Helen lived alone on the farm for 12 more years, with help from friends and neighbors. She spent some winters in Florida, and reluctantly got a telephone, before she died in an auto accident at age Helen Nearing sought a higher standard of life, not a higher standard of living. She was a mentor to people who wanted to learn how to grow food organically, live in harmony with nature, and learn the benefits of healthy living. Pingback: Past posts: A simple living index Adventures in the good life. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. Search for:. Share this: Twitter Facebook. Like this: Like Loading Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:. Email required Address never made public. Name required. Post to Cancel. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy. Helen Nearing’s good life | Adventures in the good life

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