This ground breaking work goes beyond the books that tell you how to simplify your life. This book reveals what has happened in the lives of real people who have done it. Based on the author's three-year study of over 200 people from 40 states and eight countries, Choosing Simplicity is a delightful and rich blend of real-life profiles and guidelines on simplicity. Interwoven throughout the stories are the author'ss insights and lessons to guide those who want to explore simplicity and to sustain those who have already embarked on this journey. The book also includes a 16-page Resource Guide with reviews of 42 books on simplicity, information on related web sites, organizations, simplicity study circles, workshops, newsletters and magazines.
Choosing Simplicity
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
The popular press has recently held its magnifying glass up to what has been called the "simplicity movement." Pierce, founder of a three-year Simplicity Study that followed the lives of 211 people, takes a closer look with this book about her findings. Difficult to summarize, it is, nonetheless, an intriguing, if occasionally preachifying, treatise on the superior value of living with more integrity than money. For most collections.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Choosing Simplicity is just what the doctor ordered for anyone thinking about simplifying their lives. Pierce successfully debunks the commonly held myths about the simplicity movement through the captivating stories of the everyday people who have done it. Meticulously researched and well written." -- Jacqueline Blix and David Heitmiller, authors of Getting a Life<br /><br />"Linda Breen Pierce brings clarity and compassion to an insider's report on the simple life. Choosing Simplicity is filled with first-hand stories and insights of real people who describe their life-long process of discovering more soulful and sustainable ways of living." -- Duane Elgin, author of Voluntary Simplicity" and Awakening Earth<br /><br />"Linda Breen Pierce brings home the importance of the personal story. Reading the stories of the people in her study is liberating and exhilarating! We can't change alone, and even if you have no "simplifiers" in your life, these people can become your mental and emotional community-inspiring you to live more fully and more in harmony with the Earth. Read the book a little each day and you'll find yourself changing in profound ways." -- Cecile Andrews, author of Circle of Simplicity<br /><br />"People often ask me, 'Is it really possible to simplify your life?' The real life stories in Choosing Simplicity prove that it is possible. And they show the many and varied ways choosing simplicity can lead to a more satisfying, rewarding, and fulfilling life. This book is an inspiration and guide for anyone who wants to live more simply." -- Elaine St. James, author of Simplify Your Life and Inner Simplicity<br /><br />"Reading about all those who had succeeded in simplifying their lives gave us courage. Those of us who are seeking more creative ways to live need to know we aren't alone...the true stories in this book prove that we are members of a growing movement. This is an important, informative, inspiring and entertaining book. Must reading for anyone sincerely seeking meaningful and fulfilling alternatives to mainstream goals!" -- Hal Zina Bennett, Ph.D., and Susan J. Sparrow, coauthors of Follow Your Bliss<br /><br />"You are in for a treat. The stories in this book are rich in texture and color, the warp on which you will find yourself weaving reflections about your own life.. . . Linda weaves her own experiences and insights throughout and brings a great deal of joy and respect to the telling of each story." -- Vicki Robin, coauthor of Your Money or Your Life, from the Foreword of Choosing Simplicity<br /><br />"Choosing Simplicity is intelligent, beautifully written, and emphatically nonjudgmental." --Larry Roth, author of Beating the System
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
116 of 121 people found the following review helpful
By Quaker Annie
Format:Paperback
There are books on frugal living, cutting costs and you'll find plenty of those in here, or in any bookstore. But let's start with the premise that 21st century life for many people - especially those who can afford to browse the Internet, and shop on-line, is paced far too fast to be truly enjoyable. Read this book and you'll find personal stories of many people like you, like me, who have found ways to continue living in the world while bringing more meaning into their everyday lives. Not an instruction manual, not helpful hints for practical savings, it's an inspirational boost for those of us who know, in the back of our minds, that we are speeding PAST life at breakneck speed - while realizing that life is too precious and too short to live like we do.
63 of 66 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have been a fan of "Your Money Or Your Life" since it was first published, along with the New Road Map Foundation. I've given several copies of that book to friends and family.
However, many people will find that, while they can support and agree with the principles that Dominguez and Robin publish, the practice of those principles as laid out in the book don't fit their chosen way of life.
That's where this book comes in. It is a gentler illustration of many of "Life's" principles. Its value is in the narration of families' applications to different ways of life. As other reviewers have noted, choosing simplicity need not be a 'return to nature' movement or the adoption of practices impractical for so many families. Many of us earn our living doing things we already love, with no need to 'retire' to voluntarism. Plus, it should be remembered that choices available to single people are not necessarily proper for those with family responsibilities.
This book is indeed the proper followup to the Dominguez/Robin book. In the future, if I make that book a gift, this book will accompany it.
177 of 196 people found the following review helpful
By Mom to two
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Yes, as soon as I read about the author's spiritual awakening to simplicity as she lived in Carmel, CA as her husband sold real estate in Carmel, this book was lost on me. I mean, get real, anyone can find an environmental awareness when you're living in one of the most beautiful places on earth, you're financially supported by your husband (marketing to those buying large, expensive oceanfront homes), and you're not worried about raising kids, driving carpool, working, or doing anything resembling the life that many of the rest of us have.
The stories presented of those who have made the leap to simplicity did not inspire me. They thought about it, quit their jobs, moved, started new jobs, wow, life is great. Again, having some financial freedom from periods of unemployment, money for downpayments on new apartments, money to relocate, money to eat, yea, it's easy to relocate across the country (or across the ocean) when you have no family and no dire financial considerations.
Save your money, unless reading about the wonderful lives of others makes you feel good. You will not receive any advice on how to live simpler. If you have a big bank account, no kids, and a working partner, then maybe this book might inspire you. For the working class raising kids, don't bother.
The stories presented of those who have made the leap to simplicity did not inspire me. They thought about it, quit their jobs, moved, started new jobs, wow, life is great. Again, having some financial freedom from periods of unemployment, money for downpayments on new apartments, money to relocate, money to eat, yea, it's easy to relocate across the country (or across the ocean) when you have no family and no dire financial considerations.
Save your money, unless reading about the wonderful lives of others makes you feel good. You will not receive any advice on how to live simpler. If you have a big bank account, no kids, and a working partner, then maybe this book might inspire you. For the working class raising kids, don't bother.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Inspiring Stories
A very inspiring book, giving many examples of what living on purpose looks like. The subjects of this book look at time, work, money, relationships and leisure, in a very... Read more
Published 25 days ago by GTO
5.0 out of 5 stars
A MOST Exceptional Read
Linda Breen Pierce provided a clear vision of simplicity in its' many forms. This was a difficult book for me to put down and I am quite eager to read again! Read more
Published 2 months ago by Kathy Adams
5.0 out of 5 stars
good read
I love this book so much I bought another one for a friend of mine. Excellent read, and it is broken up so you can read a little at a time.
Published 5 months ago by kav122
5.0 out of 5 stars
Like the fresh air
Very relaxing to read. Good to know that I'm not alone with my "mania" ( in Hungary the simplicity-movement is nearly unknown ).
Published 13 months ago by frejja
5.0 out of 5 stars
Food for thought if considering a change
I think Linda has done a great job with this book. She was obviously curious about the whole simplification thing, and wanted to know if real people had made it work. Read more
Published 20 months ago by D. Downie
4.0 out of 5 stars
Simplicity for a jaded age...
I liked this book and found it inspiring and worth reading - it gave me some good ideas, especially when I read how other people went through with their decisions to live a... Read more
Published on August 11, 2010 by KH
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Book
Our family was already making changes in our lifestyle for it to be more simply.
I friend suggested this book and it was a exciting surprise to find the experiences of other... Read more
I friend suggested this book and it was a exciting surprise to find the experiences of other... Read more
Published on May 11, 2010 by M Rodriguez
5.0 out of 5 stars
I have read this 10 times.
I love this book. I find it so inspiring to read about actual people working to live
simpler, sustainable lives. Read more
simpler, sustainable lives. Read more
Published on January 31, 2010 by C.M.M.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Choosing Simplicity: Real People Finding Peace and Fulfillment in a...
This is a book that doesn't insult you by demanding that you do things a certain way. Some people might need or like to be told to do exact steps so maybe if you're that type then... Read more
Published on January 28, 2009 by Susan M. Merritt
5.0 out of 5 stars
What is simplicity and how can each of us find it?
The author's goal is to show that simplicity varies by person -- it is living life in harmony with our souls. It can be done anywhere. Read more
Published on June 18, 2008 by Jeri L. Morgan
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