Customer Reviews

Dematerializing: Taming The Power Of Possessions

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This wonderful book is both highly thought-provoking and down-to-earth. It is a truism that American values over the last 20, 50, or 100 years have shifted dramatically toward accumulating material goods. Hammerslough explores the desperate paradox that even though we buy more and more things, they don't make us happier or draw us closer to our loved ones, despite the marketers' promises. Her distinctive contribution is to show just how far excess materialism alienates us from our own best selves, from loving and understanding others, from nurturing a true sense of security and belonging.

Every day, Americans receive over 3,000 marketing messages such as "Do you care enough to send the very best flowers?" or "Promise her anything, but give her Arpege". What effect does this really have on our relationships? On our sense of adequacy?

The book concludes with several modest and practical suggestions to help individuals refocus their emotional energies on what really matters, and to begin to ask the right questions to help separate between "want" and "need". One of the most appealing aspects of the book is Hammerslough's warm and humane first-person voice; she does not take a cold above-it-all approach by any means.

At Thanksgiving this year, we all agreed that Americans share a new sense of togetherness in the wake of recent national tragedies. In a sense, "Dematerializing" could not be more timely. This book is an excellent starting point for anyone who wants to appreciate the simple pleasures of life more directly, without having to have the right "kit".

Also worth mentioning is the companion website, which contains source materials for discussion and interesting facts. An excerpt from the book's opening chapter is also available there.

Dematerializing is a thought-provoking, fascinating book about why
we want, want, want to buy more and more things. It's original and relevant because it doesn't go over the same tired arguments about consuming and spending less. Instead, it explores motivation behind buying and the meaning that objects hold, and offers practical suggestions for feeling you have 'enough' in a materialistic culture. Hammerslough's very appealing tone and thorough research resonated for me, and I'd recommend it highly.

Because we practice a voluntary simplicity, your money or your life way of living I am always interested in books on the subject of downsizing or decluttering or dematerializing. So this book caught my eye. I especially liked how she speaks to the issues of fear and feeling one may be deprived if they do with less. How as a society we have evolved and look to things to bring us a feeling of worth or happiness whereas in decades past it was family and friends whom we turned to. Ironically those were also the decades when people had money in savings accounts and weren't in debt. The books premise really is money cant buy you love.

I especially liked Chapter 11 where the author talks about the value of having one day (Sunday) where we don't do anything except rest and relax. And she differentiates between recreation and fun and real rest and relaxation. And she discusses developing a will for living. Doing what gives one pleasure as well as an income. And the importance of simply being thankful for what one has. I really agree with her on that. I often stand in the shower and realize that there are people who have no indoor plumbing. No hot water at the turn of a knob, and now clean clothes fresh out of a washing machine and dried and ready for me to wear. Or the fact that I turn a knob and I have hot water to wash dishes, which in turn helps prevent diseases that in so many of the worlds countries are rampant.

It is a book I recommend although I believe Your Money or Your Life is number one and the author agrees since she lists it on the books to read section.

Dematerializing is a must read for anyone raising kids in our possession-obsessed society. It is a pleasure to read--the writing is both clever and engaging. Dematerializing offers valuable insights into our need for possessions without being preachy or disparaging of our ingrained cultural instincts. It also offers valuable suggestions for finding satisfaction with what you've got. I highly recommend it!

Original thinking. Very thorough analysis of why people buy things, or want to buy them. Looks at it from many different angles. If you spend too much, or find that spending money or having things doesn't solve your problem of wanting things (that is, do you just end up wanting more?), then this book can help you do some soul-searching to arrive at a solution. Sees possessions as symptoms, not goals. Examines why you want things, and how you can solve the problem of spending too much or putting too much emphasis on possessions by changing your thinking. Expertly written. A pleasure to read.

Wonderful book. I don't know how she did it, but she seems to have organized and thoroughly analyzed the very large topic of posessions and materialism, and all in a very readable and fluid style.

I found myself often wondering how she so easily transitioned one chapter or idea to another, but it always worked somehow. Filled with helpful suggestions on how to keep one's perspective, but never preachy. Her anecdotes are particularly interesting, as she takes elements from her own personal life and integrates them into a larger philosophical discussion.

I think one of the strongest points of the book is that it carefully and thoughtfully disects the reasons why we want things and gets to the root of the problem, while not wasting a lot of time explaining how we stop ourselves from wanting (the first question answers the second). And she speaks from the heart. Far from a distanced sociological paper on materialism, this book is one woman's attempt at trying to throttle back and re-evaluate what is truly important in life... and with such thorough research and a comprehensive understanding, she shares her wisdom with us.

This is a book that I've wanted to give to everyone I know! It really cuts through our tendency to consume like bandits and not think about the consequences. My favorite part is the one that discusses what to do about inherited items that are taking over our spaces. I've read this book more than once and I recommend it to all my professional organizing clients!

Jennifer Baron, Professional Organizer
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The title holds promise--advice on how to break the buying habit. The contents proved to be everything but--pages of poorly-and annoyingly--written filler on why we're so consumed by consuming. After slogging through this wasteland of non-information, I gave up and turned with hope to the last chapter, the one that's supposed to offer advice. It does, but it's pathetically shallow and self-evident. Readers, the first step in dematerializing is to not waste money on this book. The next step is to gather your thoughts and come up with your own way to dematerialize. I guarantee you'll do a much better job than Hammerslough. And it won't cost you a penny.

Although I had high hopes for this book, I was disappointed by Hammerslough's mediocre analysis of consumerism in America. It may be plumped up by some interesting examples of materialism, but it fails to really identify the cultural roots of why we overspend, why we seek comfort in things.

Most dismaying is the final chapter of the book, which provides a superficial overview on how we can overcome our materialist nature. This chapter reads like a simplistic advice column from a whiny monthly magazine.

Save your money for something you really need.

This book is like new, great buy and in great shape. Buying used books like this better than buying new because it is way cooler.