This Isn't What You Think
Twelve by Twelve: A One-Room Cabin Off the Grid and Beyond the American Dream
Okay, so we got this thinking we'd be reading a book about a mans year long stay in a off the grid 12' x 12' cabin nestled in the woods. Well, it is kinda about that but well, not really.
See this is mostly the authors thoughts about all sorts of stuff. He can be very boring & sometimes really managed to anger us. At other times he had some very good points.
First there is something very relaxing, freeing and soothing about the idea of living 12' x 12' Imagine having so much less to be responsible for, to have to pay for, to have to maintain. To live so simple & rich. A goal to have "less" so you can have "more".
Second, the author spends most of the book dwelling on the past. It's more like he wrote this book as a form of therapy for himself. His past has interesting points but he is a bit of a whiner. Very annoying. We were dealing with all of this until we got to chapter 10 titled 'White'. Now if you are white, you are privileged & unaware of your special privileges & oblivious to the suffering of minorities esp. the blacks. You had slaves, you whites are bad news. Never mind that this country tore it's self in half to fight for the freedom of those in slavery. Americans killed each other so the slaves could be free! That is a powerful thing that for some reason is not recognized in this country. Not only that there is a black man as the president. Where is all this white privilege & racism? We just don't see it. Also we shouldn't forget that the African government sold their own people into slavery. We also should remember that whites were slaves too! The past is the past! We will never move forward if we keep looking into the past. Enough is enough! No one in our family had slaves. No one in our family was wealthy. We believe that some in our family were indentured servants (slaves) no one in our family runs around saying how they were wronged. It's the past, you move forward. What we do now in the present is what counts.
Anyway, the cabin is on 2 acres & it's not deep in the woods. There is a nasty chicken factory so sometimes the author gets to smell the poor abused animals stench. 12 x 12 has neighbors too. The parts about the neighbors & the authors trips on foot & bike when he explores are interesting. The most interesting character is the one we don't know a whole heck of a lot about. The owner of 12 x 12. She is a doctor & her life is fascinating. We'd love to read about her rather than this author. Get this, she is totally about peace & helping others, living on less, etc. Yet her Father was a Ku Klux Clan member. She is the opposite of him. The author for some reason has difficulty with the fact that she is not her father. It takes him a while to work this out within himself....
Last the back of the book gives some resources for better living. It's about 2 pages & has some good sites to explore.
Bottom line: We don't recommend this book to anyone.
Okay, so we got this thinking we'd be reading a book about a mans year long stay in a off the grid 12' x 12' cabin nestled in the woods. Well, it is kinda about that but well, not really.
See this is mostly the authors thoughts about all sorts of stuff. He can be very boring & sometimes really managed to anger us. At other times he had some very good points.
First there is something very relaxing, freeing and soothing about the idea of living 12' x 12' Imagine having so much less to be responsible for, to have to pay for, to have to maintain. To live so simple & rich. A goal to have "less" so you can have "more".
Second, the author spends most of the book dwelling on the past. It's more like he wrote this book as a form of therapy for himself. His past has interesting points but he is a bit of a whiner. Very annoying. We were dealing with all of this until we got to chapter 10 titled 'White'. Now if you are white, you are privileged & unaware of your special privileges & oblivious to the suffering of minorities esp. the blacks. You had slaves, you whites are bad news. Never mind that this country tore it's self in half to fight for the freedom of those in slavery. Americans killed each other so the slaves could be free! That is a powerful thing that for some reason is not recognized in this country. Not only that there is a black man as the president. Where is all this white privilege & racism? We just don't see it. Also we shouldn't forget that the African government sold their own people into slavery. We also should remember that whites were slaves too! The past is the past! We will never move forward if we keep looking into the past. Enough is enough! No one in our family had slaves. No one in our family was wealthy. We believe that some in our family were indentured servants (slaves) no one in our family runs around saying how they were wronged. It's the past, you move forward. What we do now in the present is what counts.
Anyway, the cabin is on 2 acres & it's not deep in the woods. There is a nasty chicken factory so sometimes the author gets to smell the poor abused animals stench. 12 x 12 has neighbors too. The parts about the neighbors & the authors trips on foot & bike when he explores are interesting. The most interesting character is the one we don't know a whole heck of a lot about. The owner of 12 x 12. She is a doctor & her life is fascinating. We'd love to read about her rather than this author. Get this, she is totally about peace & helping others, living on less, etc. Yet her Father was a Ku Klux Clan member. She is the opposite of him. The author for some reason has difficulty with the fact that she is not her father. It takes him a while to work this out within himself....
Last the back of the book gives some resources for better living. It's about 2 pages & has some good sites to explore.
Bottom line: We don't recommend this book to anyone.
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