Choosing Simplicity: Real People Finding Peace and Fulfillment in a Complex World

I choose a simple lifestyle and I care deeply about living a nonconsumer-y, peaceful life. Not so easy, as I live in New York City. Maybe it's because I live here, but I desperately need to hear about people choosing the same path I have. It helped me so much to read about their setbacks and triumphs and to read the author's nonjudgmental statements about the message she's pulled from each of her interviewee's stories. You need to clarify your values, then get your life in line with those values--whether you chose to live in an urban or a rural setting. This clear written, thoughtful book connected me with others out there who chose simplicity for the same or other reasons as I have. It helps to read other's journeys to feel not quite so much like a freak on a daily basis. Very thought provoking and thoughful.

I have been a fan of "Your Money Or Your Life" since it was first published, along with the New Road Map Foundation. I've given several copies of that book to friends and family. However, many people will find that, while they can support and agree with the principles that Dominguez and Robin publish, the practice of those principles as laid out in the book don't fit their chosen way of life. That's where this book comes in. It is a gentler illustration of many of "Life's" principles. Its value is in the narration of families' applications to different ways of life. As other reviewers have noted, choosing simplicity need not be a 'return to nature' movement or the adoption of practices impractical for so many families. Many of us earn our living doing things we already love, with no need to 'retire' to voluntarism. Plus, it should be remembered that choices available to single people are not necessarily proper for those with family responsibilities. This book is indeed the proper followup to the Dominguez/Robin book. In the future, if I make that book a gift, this book will accompany it.

There are books on frugal living, cutting costs and you'll find plenty of those in here, or in any bookstore. But let's start with the premise that 21st century life for many people - especially those who can afford to browse the Internet, and shop on-line, is paced far too fast to be truly enjoyable. Read this book and you'll find personal stories of many people like you, like me, who have found ways to continue living in the world while bringing more meaning into their everyday lives. Not an instruction manual, not helpful hints for practical savings, it's an inspirational boost for those of us who know, in the back of our minds, that we are speeding PAST life at breakneck speed - while realizing that life is too precious and too short to live like we do.

This is the perfect book for anyone out there who thinks that there must be more to life. Buy this book and you will be inspired to make the changes that you know, in your heart, are the right changes to make. Written with an easy-to-read tone, Choosing Simplicity introduces you to over 200 people who have decided that life has more to offer than commuting and paying credit card bills. Their stories will inspire you, as they did me, to prioritize and "clean house." The best thing about this book is that it gives you so many different ways to make your life simple. There isn't just one plan. The various stories allow you to pick and choose what works for you. I enjoyed this book so much that I've purchased it for 3 different people.

This is an inspirational book for anyone who has decided that life can be more content and meaningful by making a conscious decision to simplify. Many people are under the impression that living simply involves giving up all worldly goods and going to live in a one-room dwelling without electricity or running water. Linda Breen Pierce introduces us to mainstream Americans who have found a variety of ways to simplify their lives in order to have a more meaningful existence. Because of this her work has the potential of having more impact on those who read it than stories of people who take a more radical approach to simplicity. For those of us who have already decided to simplify our lives, she lends encouragement and comfort in the fact that we are not alone in our decision. This is an excellent book to begin the Year 2000 reading!