The number one complain of people today is the lack of meaning in their hectic lives. In her second book, A Simple Choice: a practical guide for saving your time, money and sanity, author Deborah Taylor-Hough addresses societal emptiness and the personal search for contentment. With an aim toward returning to emotional replenishment using clear, concise and uplifting examples, A Simple Choice not only examines the futility of keeping up with the Jones' but depicts the simply joy and fulfillment of keeping up with ourselves. Through practical help in the areas of home-keeping, family unity, saving money, spending plans, cooking and more, Deborah Taylor-Hough guides us down a simple life path. In an era of self-reflection, A Simple Choice holds the mirror of life's simple joys that are available to everyone.
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"A Simple Choice offers new insights, r efreshing common sense and the author's firsthand experience..." -- Linda Breen Pierce, author of Choosing Simplicity: Real People Finding Peace and Fulfillment in a Complex World
"People who long for a life beyond chasing time and money will appreciate the hope A Simple Choice offers." -- Karen Jogerst, author of If I Could Just Get Organized! Home Management Hope for Piles and Filers!
"This book describes how to successfully pursue both the simple and frugal lifestyles. -- Jonni McCoy, author of Miserly Moms
About the Author
Deborah Taylor-Hough is the author of Frozen Assets: how to cook for a day and eat for a month and A Simple Choice. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and three children.
Over twenty years ago, we bucked the tide of late-20th Century American life. Our family of five became a one income family in a two income world. We set out on a journey toward frugal living and simplicity that quickly became an education in itself -- and a rewarding, joy-filled lifestyle.
Through hard work and determination, our family:
~ paid off outstanding consumer debt and medical bills... ~ radically reduced spending in every area of our lives... ~ and most importantly, lived to tell about it!
During our family's lean times, we learned creative ways to stretch our limited finances while not sacrificing our quality of life. Between the demands on our time and a very limited budget, I discovered the benefits of preparing meals ahead of time to store in the freezer. My family of five regularly sat down for homemade meals -- for less than $300 per month -- without sacrificing nutrition, variety, or flavor.
I share my knowledge of cooking for the freezer in my first book, Frozen Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month (Champion Press, ISBN 1891400614). I've taught freezer-meal techniques to thousands of people through in-person workshops, discussion groups, radio programs, television spots, and a variety of on-line resources.
In my second book, A Simple Choice: A Practical Guide for Saving Your Time, Money and Sanity, I share some of what I've learned firsthand about raising a family and managing a household with limited time and money. And staying sane in the process.
I have several other books on the market including Frugal Living For Dummies (Wiley Publishing, Feb 2003), Frozen Assets Lite & Easy, Mix and Match Recipes: Creative Ideas for Busy Kitchens, and Frozen Assets Readers' Favorites.
I regularly teach classes and workshops through women's groups, churches, conferences, and community education programs on the topics of:
~ living within your means ~ simple living ~ cooking for the freezer ~ general homemaking ~ identifying personal priorities ~ simplifying the holidays ~ easy educational ideas for children ... and more!
I also edit several free email newsletters including Simple Times, one of the longest running consistently published email newsletters online. You can subscribe via my website at: TheSimpleMom.com
I would wholeheartedly recommend A Simple Choice to anyone on the road to simplicity. It is definitely a must-read. Taylor-Hough never assumes to tell anyone what "their" simplicity should look like, rather she inspires with creative ideas and her own experience. Her perspective isn't one of preaching but sharing. Reading her book was like having a conversation with a good friend--I didn't want it to end! The book's title is perfect: to be able to choose a simple lifestyle deliberately and purposefully is the definition of contentment and makes for a wonderful life. And it is a wonderful life, right?
This book is an excellent primer for those being introduced to the concepts of simple-living and for those, like myself, who are avid practioners. The book provides a reflective introduction to the concepts of simplicity,interspersed with personal anecdotes from the author, practical tips,and an excellent appendix which provides other sources for more research into the area of simple-living. The inclusion of tips,hints, and recipes makes this an excellent home resource guide. Many of the tips are geared towards families, but any of them can be adapted for those single or child-less households, and do not diminish the value of the concepts presented.
There are many simplicity books out there written from the perspective of those who were spendthrifts and/or packrats, but who have now seen the light.
Taylor-Hough writes her book from the perspective of a woman for whom simplicity is a way of life and always has been. There is no fluff about how to buy the expensive for less, or how to find self-respect in one’s new lifestyle. The author presents nothing more than the desire to share the joy that is born from living the life of less.
The only hitch that we encountered was that Taylor-Hough choose to include information on how to eliminate debt and work with financial difficulties. We agree that this issue must be overcome to truly appreciate the simple (or any kind of) life, but the subject is so massive that the chapter ends up sounding somewhat trite. We believe Taylor-Hough would have been better served to refer the reader to a book with a more comprehensive approach to the subject, such as Mary Hunt's cheapskate series.
Other than that small point, the book will prove to be one that is examined and re-examined often whether you are just entering the philosophy or whether you have been a practitioner for a long time.
