Customer Reviews

Simple Living: One Couple's Search for a Better Life

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

If you want to read the experiences of a couple of yuppies "simplifying" their lives, I suppose this is the book for you. I guess there is a place for that. However, they apparently had so far to go that simplifying for them is anything but for some of the rest of us.

I found the writing style very irritating. Referring to themselves sometimes in the first person, other times second, over to third, then back to first, it really got on my last nerve.

Some of the stories were interesting, but only as stories, not as inspiration or information on simplifying. The best parts of the book were when they were talking about the simple living solutions of other people, almost all of whom had more interesting stories than the authors'.

The snide shot they took at the Nearings was completely uncalled for and unnecessary, as was the equally mean comments about the couple who were former nuns, although not for the reason you may think but because they had simplified too much, in the eyses of the authors. I think this is revealing, and underscores my impression that they only think people should simplify so far.

And the fact that they see Sam Levering as being only of modest income even during the heyday of his orchard indicates they really have no clue about economic reality for most Americans.

Lastly, to have a chapter on frgual living only to turn around in the next chapter and describe a completely unnecessary upgrade of a kitchen was the last straw. Do they even know what frugal IS???

I second some of the other recommendations for alternative books. Read the Nearings THE GOOD LIFE, which combines their two classics on back to earth living, and YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE, by Dominguez and Robbin. You also might go to the Simple Living website, based on the latter book, and get some good info. It's at simpliving.net.

This one? As I said, if you are a yuppie or are otherwise wealthy and don't want to stray too far into the land of simplicity, you might actually find some use for this book.

maybe couples shouldn't write books together. i don't know if they were complimenting themselves, or more likely each other, but it got very tiresome. we all have to build up a certain degree of belief in ourselves, but it is not fun to read other people doing this. i thought the Goldstone's books (a couple who write about book-collecting) suffered from this, but this book really got on my nerves. i like the life they describe in the book, i just don't like all the ego that came with the description, it greatly distracted from the information. they also go on about how great their friends are, but they manage to make this annoying as well. i recommend your money or your life by dominguez & robin, or living the good life: how to live sanely & simply by the nearings instead of this book.

i don't know if i'm more thankful to wanda and frank for writing this book or to my friend kurt for passing it along to me. either way, it helped change my life.

the book tells the story of how wanda and frank transformed their LA lives. mixed in with their narrative are vignettes of other peoples' searches for simplicity in their lives. maybe the word "simplicity" has become overused and its definition washed out. for me, the book showed how different folks found peace of mind on a daily basis. how they realigned their goals and actions with their values. how they stopped competing and started living.

after i read it, i took a trip to Levering Orchard with my friend kurt. we wanted to meet the authors, to let them know that their book had touched us. so we took some time off from work, drove to virginia and found the orchard. when we arrived, frank was working at the pack house. we bought some apples and told him why we were there.

frank called wanda, who was up at the house, and told her that some "fans" had arrived at the pack house and wanted to meet her. and over time, kurt and i became friends with frank and wanda. we visited them on several occasions and kurt even helped them pick apples during the last week of the season that year.

i saw how they lived ten years after the move from california. i understood what they were writing about in Simple Living, and i began changing my own life. i wouldn't say that life has become "simple", but it sure is more peaceful than it used to be. my daily actions reflect my personal values and i have learned to live well with less stuff. i even moved from california to north carolina, in the blue ridge mountains, not too far from Levering Orchard.

so thanks, wanda and frank, for writing this book. and thanks, kurt, for letting me know about it.

It was surprising to read lukewarm reviews of this book, because I love it, and I like to think I'm a fairly discriminating reader. The story of Frank Levering and Wanda Urbanska's odyssey from Los Angeles, where they were trying to live as writers, back home to the family apple orchard, with its rich but suffocating mix of family and religious and rural values, is a story that many will warmly relate to. It will appeal especially to those who have made livings in the creative arts, have wearied of the rat race and commercialism, and have decided to seek something simpler, more authentic, more affordable...it is a special kind of American story, for we habitually celebrate upward mobility, but only rarely focus on what the Shakers called our quest for "the place just right." I have a number of friends who have enjoyed a few years in large cities, but have become intrigued by the simplicity movement (if it is that) and the possibilities of making a rewarding life in a more remote location. I should also like to say that this isn't a book by Yuppies, about Yuppies...clearly, the locals are valued as highly as the ex-pats. and the attitude is respectful and refreshing. I give this book as a gift and congratulate the authors on writing a story I've enjoyed reading more than once. I don't know what financial rewards, if any, they achieved from writing the book, but I really believe they've done something more meaningful than the LA screenplays would have been. A closing thought...though home schooling is far from my particular world, I think this might be a great selection for the home schooling community, because it gives a glimpse of modern urban life, but affirms in a fresh and interesting way the values of family and community right under one's nose...

I have just completed reading Simple Living: One Couples Search for a Better Life by Frank Levering and Wanda Urbanska. I am now under the belief that anyone can write and publish a book if they have enough words assembled. The authors took a great idea, and wrote what I believe is a collection of thier experiences with people that the authors have met though thier life experiences. The amazing thing is, these people add nothing to the concepts of simple living! If you are looking for a book that describes the process of transforming one's existence to one of simplier living, you are strongly advised to look elsewhere. If you are looking for a collection of unrelated encounters, then this may be the book for you.

This is undoubtedly one of the best books I have ever read, and yes, I have read many. Having grown up in a small town, moved away to several metropolitan areas, and then returned, I am well aware of the challenges which face those of us who do so. Levering & Urbanska do a marvelous job of eruditely characterizing those challenges, as well as providing insight into the paradigm shifts required to resolve them. Their detailed, yet lively, description of small town and rural life is masterful, honest yet not critical. While their circumstances are unique to themselves, they are/will be reflected in the experiences of anyone making a similar choice. Additionally, the work is more than just one dimensional. It provides insight into both simple living as well as small town living. The writing style was eloquently simple, yet above a third-grade reading level. It was entertaining as well as enjoyable. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in small town living, simple living, or both.

This book may not appeal to those readers who have already read books on Voluntary Simplicity and who are fairly knowlegeable about that "movement". I, however, found the book to be an excellent introduction to the idea of living a simpler life. So many people complain about their crazy lives and having to 'keep up with the Jones'' but do nothing about it (except shrug their shoulders and try to keep up). This couple chose to do something about it and educate themselves along the way. No, they are not Helen and Scott Nearing, nor are they trying to be. They are people in search of a saner life. I found their story accessable, inspiring and entertaining and after I read it, I started reading the works of the Nearings, Arne Naess, Duane Elgin, David E. Shi, Cecile Andrews, Joe Dominguez and others. So, thank you, Wanda and Frank for opening this readers mind. This is a wonderful book for all of those readers who have thought, "Sometimes, I would just like to chuck it all and go live in..." written by a couple who did just that.

This book is charming in every respect. Levering and Urbanska are highly intelligent, thoughtful individuals who made one decision that completely changed their lives: they traded in their hectic L.A. lifestyle for a quiet existence managing a family-owned orchard in a remote corner of Virginia. Along the way they learned to appreciate the value of frugality, family ties, caring for the environment, volunteering, and community activism. I was sorry when the book ended and disappointed that the writers didn't provide the address and directions to their orchard on the back leaf of the book -- I'm more than ready to make the 6 hour drive from D.C. to the Levering Orchard to pick a bucket of ripe, sweet cherries!

I'm puzzled at some of the negative reviews. They seem a bit harsh, judging the path chosen by this couple in their book and the stories of others who have also chosen different interpretations of simple living. I'm also puzzled that one reader disliked their detailed descriptions of things such as remodeling their bathroom when isn't that what Thoreau did in "Walden Pond"? I believe this book gives encouragement for people to find their own way of simplicity and of not competing with the Joneses, while admitting how difficult it can be to go against the tide of spending. It gives me hope that my journey isn't as solitary as I sometimes think it is.

After reading the reviews on Amazon.com I bought this book. I quickly saw that I should have taken more note of the negative reviews here. So I'm writing this to add to their number so others won't waste their money (and isn't that what simple living is about?). The other negative reviewers really say it all for me, so I advise any perspective readers of this book to read their comments before buying this book. There is much better material out there, such as the books written by Janet Luhrs (also called SIMPLE LIVING) and Vicky Robin (YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE).