Wise Words for the Good Life: A Homesteader's Personal Collection (Good Life Series) [Paperback]

Helen Nearing (Author)

Book Description

Series: Good Life Series | Publication Date: July 23, 2008

As one of the leading twentieth-century practitioners of self-sufficient living, Helen Nearing found illumination and solace in the sayings of predecessors who had sought their own versions of "the good life." By grouping the wisdom of the ages into categories that are quirky yet eminently sensible, she brings to life the contemporary relevance of some of the most profound chroniclers of our rural heritage.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Helen Nearing left city life with her husband, Scott, nearly sixty years ago to move first to Vermont and then to their farm in Harborside, Maine. The Nearings' food and living philosophies have provided the guidelines for many who seek a simpler way of life.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing; 1 edition (July 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890132411
• ISBN-13: 978-1890132415
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #750,759 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Helen Nearing left city life with her husband, Scott, nearly sixty years ago to move first to Vermont and then to their farm in Harborside, Maine. The Nearings' food and living philosophies have provided the guidelines for many who seek a simpler way of life.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Words to Hang on Your Refrigerator, December 10, 2004

By 

Erika Mitchell (E. Calais, VT USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wise Words for the Good Life: A Homesteader's Personal Collection (Good Life Series) (Paperback)

This book is Helen Nearing's personal collection of astute quotations on various topics relating to homesteading and simple living. The topics are grouped into chapters, including: the rewards of country living, frugality and economy, weather and the seasons, gardening and the soil, woodlots and fire-making, money and true wealth, and solitude and contentment. Within each chapter, the quotations are organized chronologically according to when they were first published. Authors of quotations range from the well-known, such as Cicero, Shakespeare, and Thoreau, to others who have been forgotten or obscured by time. William Alcott makes a number of appearances in this book, as do Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Frank Lloyd Wright. To help you locate quotes by author, there is an index of authors' names at the end of the book.

Great words cover every page in this book. I would love to hang a selection of them on my refrigerator for prominent display every day, starting with "Men dig their Graves with their own Teeth and die more by those fatal instruments than the Weapons of their Enemies."-Thomas Moffett, Helth's Improvement (1590). One fact that becomes clear from reading this book is how long a history the philosophy of simplicity has in our culture. Ben Franklin reminds us "With frugality, there will be no lack; with extravagance, there's never enough." Later on, Frank Lloyd Wright points out "Many wealthy people are little more than the janitors of their possessions." In 1938, Lin Yutang saw simplicity as a movement of the future, arguing "I do not think that any civilization can be called complete until it has progressed from sophistication to unsophistication, and made a conscious return to simplicity of thinking and living."

One fact that struck me while reading this book is how even those who try to live simply today are blessed with a much higher standard of living than was ever imaginable for even the very rich in the past. In the chapter on woodlots and fire-making, a number of quotations refer to the need for conserving wood, using every scrap, and letting the house go cold at night. A proper fire that warmed the whole house could only be lit a few times a year. After all "it took fifty or more cords a year to feed the kitchen fire alone,"-William Reed, Life on the Border, 1882. Fifty cords of wood per year for just a kitchen fire?! Thanks to today's construction techniques and materials, and our modern efficient stoves, it's simple to keep a moderately-sized house (but gigantic by pioneer standards) at 80 degrees 24-hours a day all winter on only 3 cords of wood. Simplicity can be a wonderful blessing as it frees us from unnecessary appliances and possessions. Nevertheless, there are some facets of modern technology that can go a long way in making our lives truly simple.