Book Review: Possum Living

I admit I never heard of the book Possum Living:  How to Live Well Without a Job and With (Almost) no Money, by Dolly Freed, until I saw it mentioned in the Oprah Magazine.  I know, I know, Oprah magazine is not exactly prepper material, but hey, it was a free copy lying around in the lunch room.  But that is for another topic.   Back to my review…

Possum Living was written in 1978, way before I was ever aware of the state of the economy, self-sufficiency and commercialism.  While some of the comments in the main body of the book will seem dated, the philosophy expressed behind quitting the rat race, renouncing commercialism and becoming self-sufficient is highly applicable to today’s living situation.

The author lived in a rural area at the time, with lots of access to fishing and hunting.  I on the other hand, live in the middle of an urban environment, so I doubt I would be fishing and hunting to find my food.  On the other hand, we do plan to buy some fishing rods and try out fishing one of these weekends.

The section on Gardening is definitely interesting to me, since I started a balcony garden.  Foraging is also interesting to me and I plan on checking out books from the library on recognizing edible plants.

While I doubt my current space limitations would allow me to build a still to make moonshine, I do have some interest in home brewing beer.

There is also a section dealing with canning and preserving food, some things I will be trying out.

As you read the chapters, you may find a few references that will sound strange or bordering on illegal, such as the section on how to change someone’s mind.  Later comments by the author indicate she no longer agrees with some of those methods.

The author says, “We live this way for a very simple reason: It’s easier to learn to do without some of the things that money can buy than to earn the money to buy them.”    I heartily agree.  Most of the ideas and tips presented in the book are practical and timeless.  It is up to you to decide whether you agree with the ideas or not, as well as pick and choose which sections you can reasonable apply to your daily life.

I bought this book with the idea that I can always sell it on Amazon or Ebay if it doesn’t work out.  If you were to ask me “Keep or Sell?”  This one is a Keeper.