Good Life Lab, The - Softcover

Tremayne, Wendy Jehanara

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1612121012 ISBN 13: 9781612121017

Publisher: Storey, 2013

Synopsis

The Good Life Lab is the inspirational story of how one couple ditched their high-powered careers and high-pressure life in New York City to move to rural New Mexico, where they made, built, invented and grew all they needed to live self-sufficiently, discovering a new sense of abundance in the process. Alongside their personal story are tips and tutorials to guide readers in the discovery of a fulfilling new lifestyle. Tremayne believes that everyone has the skill and creativity to make it work. The Good Life Lab not only teaches the art of making appliances, structures, gardens, food and medicine but is filled with illustrations contributed by a community of artists and illustrators, making the book a work of art. It shows readers how to reconnect with nature and the home economics required for living off the grid - it is the manual for life in a post-consumer age.

About this title

Review

"This rollicking, inspiring tale of Tremayne's journey from being the creative director of N.Y.C. marketing firm Green Galactic to being a Burning Man volunteer, yoga teacher, Sufi seeker, and hardscrabble DIY urban homesteader in a former trailer park in the eccentric community of Truth or Consequences, N. Mex., is alternately funny, tender, philosophical, and practical. ... Illustrated with whimsically florid drawings by a variety of artists and interspersed with essential how-tos for living "life in the waste stream"--from fermenting tempeh and brewing mead, to building a papercrete dome and removing rust from wrenches with electrolysis--the memoir riffs off Scott and Helen Nearing's 1954 Living the Good Life with much more style and humor than the original, bringing the back-to-the-land genre up to date with impressive sophistication and appeal."

"Stop whatever you're doing and get this book. I've just finished reading it and I have to say that Wendy and Mikey could easily be the poster children for modern day hacking. ...There wasn't a single piece of their lives that wasn't somehow improved by their efforts to play an active role in their own living. ... Their life is their workbench. ... should be handed out in high schools as part of the curriculum."

--Book Page

"Captivating right from the start ... Whether for inspiration or as a road map to creating your own off-the-grid homestead, Tremayne's book is a must read for any maker who fantasizes about stepping off the consumer-centered treadmill and into a life that is connected to nature, unhurried and meaningful."

--Los Angeles Review of Books

"Visionary naturalist and conceptual artist Wendy Jehanara Tremayne presents a unique synthesis of memoir, travelogue, guru-level spiritual wisdom and pragmatic instruction on how to get out of the 'waste stream' in which urbanites wallow and re-enter the vital stream of the natural world."

--Book & Game Company, Walla Walla, WA

"Tremayne is part of a grand American tradition of abandoning urban commercialism to grow food and build houses far from the crush of city life. ... There are many roads to satisfaction, from homesteading to buying a ticket into space, and the advice underlying [The Good Life Lab] ultimately has less to do with composting and more to do with deciding what you are willing to sacrifice to live as you choose."

--The Guardian

"Part essay, part how-to book, The Good Life Lab is for anyone who wants to live closer to the source of their food, housing, clothing and energy use. If you want inspiring examples of do-it-yourself creativity then read this book. From building with recycled materials headed for the land fill, to making biodiesel and more, this one is sure to spark ideas for your own hands-on living. A refreshing read from a couple who is leading by example."

--Rachael Ray Blog

Named a Best Staycation Summer Read "If you want to reset your psychological clock and improve your lifestyle while staying in the same place, then The Good Life Lab is the book for you."

--DIY Network blog

"Have you ever felt so fed up with the materialism of the modern world that you wanted to opt out and go back to a simpler way of living? That's exactly what Tremayne and her boyfriend ended up doing, in an effort to get in touch with what's important in life."

--Nautilus Awards

"Shares a wealth of information to inspire people who may want to embark on their own path of discovery. "

--Nautilus Book Awards - Books for a Better World

About the Author

Wendy Tremayne was a creative director in a marketing firm in New York City before moving to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, where she built an off-the-grid oasis in a barren RV park with her partner, Mikey Sklar. She is the founder of the textile repurposing event Swap-O-Rama-Rama, which has spread all over the world; a conceptual artist; a yogi; a gardener; and a writer. She has written for Craft's webzine and Make magazine and, with Mikey Sklar, keeps the blog Holy Scrap. Dale Dougherty is the founder, editor, and publisher of Make magazine. Christopher Bamford is the author of An Endless Trace: The Passionate Pursuit of Wisdom in the West. Brad Lancaster is the author of Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond. Sandor Ellix Katz is the author of The Art of Fermentation. Alyce Santoro is a conceptual and sound artist and a member of the multimedia collective known as the Center for the Improbable and (Im)Permacultural Research. Pir Zia Inayat-Kahn is the spiritual leader of the Sufi Order International. The Reverend Billy, of the Church of Stop Shopping, is the author of The End of the World. Doug Rushkoff is a media theorist and the author of many books, including Life, Inc. and Present Shock.

Edition details

• Publisher: Storey
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1612121012
• ISBN 13: 9781612121017
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320