PDF Possum Living How to Live Well without a Job and With Almost No Money edition by Dolly Freed Novella Carpenter Crafts Hobbies Home eBooks

Product details File Size 2209 KB Print Length 218 pages Page Numbers Source ISBN 0982053932 Publisher Tin House Books; 1 edition (February 26, 2019) Publication Date February 26, 2019 Language English ASIN B07MFZWC7K

Possum Living How to Live Well without a Job and With Almost No Money edition by Dolly Freed Novella Carpenter Crafts Hobbies Home eBooks Reviews

• I was so prepared to love this book being a self reliance buff myself with strong libertarian views. A real let down. Though well crafted ( which makes me think she had a lot of help ) it was obviously written by a very young, arrogant young lady with very limited life experience. The advice she gives in the "Law" section is absolutely the most ridiculous stuff I have ever read. Running around threatening people in the middle of the night and damaging private property is not going to end well for you. I like the spirit of the book, and the message has value overall, but the content and details border on silly sometimes.
  
  There are better books with more practical advice for achieving self sufficiency and dropping out of the rat race. There have to be. I could write a better one I'm sure. As a forty year old man that has been growing his food, heating my house with wood, and avoiding employment for many years, there are times when I was just shaking my head at the bad advice in this book.
  
  Putting all that aside, the biggest repudiation of this book comes not from me or anyone like me, but from the author herself! At the end of the book, decades after it was written, the author adds an addendum essentially telling us that the book is silly, it was written when she was young and stupid and she takes most of it all back!! If it weren't for that, I might possibly give this book 3 stars, just for having spirit if not content. But imagine selling someone a book, and after he/she reads it, you inform them that everything you just told them was wrong. It would be an outrage if the whole thing weren't so silly, lol. "OK you just paid money, here's my product BTW its a piece of junk!". That is exactly what the author of the book has done.
• I've loved this book for years. It's humorous and inspiring. The advice is, however, dubious - things were very different in 1978, and I feel that you'd run the risk of making yourself sick/injuring yourself (not to mention poaching endangered species) by following it if you don't know what you're doing, which seems like a lot of unnecessary trouble. But, you can see the process and figure out things for yourself based on your resources and environment if you're so inclined.
• I thought this would be an interesting book about living off the grid with lots of good advice and ideas. Instead it was just a smartass view of two lazy people who seemed to look at life like they were being forced to live it. I threw it out.
• I thought it was well written, light, entertaining and charming, in the context of it being written by a 19 yo. Apparently the wife left because she couldn't stand the "squalor". Raising food animals in the basement (deer, chickens, rabbits etc) sounds kind of gross to me but the author claims it didn't smell (ah ha). It sounds like the father / daughter lived a life of voluntary poverty for no other reason but that they were "lazy". Hardly a thing to brag about. I'm very much into minimalism and simplicity but I still like nice, expensive and high quality "things." I just don't need gobs and gobs of such "things". You couldn't even pay todays r.e. taxes on property deep in the boonies for the money they lived on back in those days. But it's been a nice read albeit dated to times long past.
• A lot of hunting info - not a good book for someone who does not want to kill animals.
• This is a bit disingenuous a title. If you are willing to live partially at the expense of others, it is doable. However, I would have preferred that these people "do" for themselves.
  
  It is interesting in that it is an insight into how others think.
• This was pretty cheesy with not much meat. It was a quick read. If you've ever had to change directions in your job plan, you've probably already figured out most of this and more.
• *** EDIT *** 8/24/2009 - An updated version has been published and can be ordered Possum Living How to Live Well Without a Job and with (Almost) No Money
  
  First, I should let you know that I am Dolly's younger brother (briefly mentioned in the book and in the documentary). For the many people who have asked, here and elsewhere, Dolly is very much alive and well.
  
  To reviewer "Howard"
  A) The intro to book clearly says 1/2-acre lot 40 miles from Philadelphia. It was not 5 acres, 5 miles from Philadelphia.
  B) Say what you want, but they really did have rabbits and chickens in the basement (more rabbits than chickens). Sorry, but you are wrong.
  C) Since we already established that your geographic positioning was incorrect, we can also conclude that you assumption about the quality of the wildlife is also wrong. They lived right next to the water reservoir and many farms. The fish and game 40 miles away from Philadelphia are some of the best eating around!
  
  To reviewer "Gregory" You bet! Dad was not to be taken lightly!
  
  To all of the rest, Dolly is still one of the most quick witted and frugal people I know. She is also pleased and wryly amused that so many people still take an interest in her book.
  
  The book is dated by today's standards and definitely contains some socially unacceptable elements, but most of the basic philosophies found in the text still hold true. You might also want to keep your children from reading the "Necessities of Life" chapter.