Epicurean Simplicity

by Stephanie Mills

"In this book, I relate the pleasures, as well as the virtues and difficulties of a perhaps simpler than average North American life." So begins ecological thinker and writer Stephanie Mills's Epicurean Simplicity , a thoughtful paean to living, like Thoreau, a deliberate life. Mills's account of the simple life reaches deep into classical sources of pleasure -- good food, good health, good friends, and particularly the endless delights of the natural world. Her musings about the life she desires -- and the life she has created -- ultimately led her to the third century Greek philosopher Epicurus, whose philosophy was premised on the trustworthiness of the senses, a philosophy that Mills wholeheartedly embraces. While later centuries have come to associate Epicurus's name with hedonism, Mills discovered that he extolled simplicity and prudence as the surest means to pleasure, and his thinking offers an important philosophical touchstone for the book. As the author explains, one of the primary motivations for her pursuit of simplicity is her concern about the impacts of a consumerist lifestyle on the natural world. Mills touches on broad range of topics relating to that issue -- social justice, biological extinctions, the global economy, and also more personal aspects such as friendship, the process of country living, the joys of physical exertion, the challenges of a writer's life, and the natural history and seasonal delights of a life lived close to nature. An overarching theme is the destructiveness of consumerism, and how even a simple life affects a wide range of organisms and adds strain to the earth's systems. The author uses her own experience as an entry point to the discussion with a self-effacing humor and lyrical prose that bring big topics to a personal level. Epicurean Simplicity is beautifully crafted, fluid, inspiring, and enlightening, examining topics of critical importance that affect us all. It celebrates the pleasures, beauty, and fulfillment of a simple life, a goal being sought by Americans from all walks of life, from harried single parents to corporate CEOs. For fans of natural history or personal narrative, for those concerned about social justice and the environment, and for those who have come to know and love Stephanie Mills through her speaking and writing, Epicurean Simplicity is a rare treasure.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Nature, Memoir, Self Help, Ecology

224 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2002

About the author

Stephanie Mills is an author, lecturer and longtime bioregionalist. Her books include Tough Little Beauties, Epicurean Simplicity, and In Service of the Wild.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book was like a lovely chat with a kindred spirit. In 10 essay-style chapters, Stephanie Mills reflects on her attempts to live a "simple" life in her small piece of the natural world -- a few acres in the great lakes region. Her writing is beautiful and engaging and her reflections often resonated with me. I appreciated the fact that she is sufficiently thoughtful and introspective to be aware of at least some of her own biases and contradictions. She expresses well some of the inherent conflicts we all must face in figuring out how to live, especially if we are the sort to appreciate the natural world and feel sadness at the changes being brought about by the human species.

[Rowenna Wakeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I needed a while to digest this book after I’d finished it, but now that I have I’ve grown a deep respect for its ardent intentions. Mills writes beautifully, and her message is extremely well articulated. Not only that but I found the style of this book to be fairly balanced.

While I would have appreciated more time spent on the ecological facts and her epicurean pursuits as to perhaps better apply them to my own life, I found that her quips, though somewhat indulgent at times, all lead to a point and helped me understand her own process and how she related all of what she had experienced to her personal philosophy, which heavily resonated with my own.

Throughout the week that I was reading this book, I felt a shift in my own perspective. I began to feel more appreciative of the smaller things, the things that may have bothered me before, the organisms that surrounded me; the Others. I similarly have a very pagan life philosophy and a deep respect rooted in the Earth and the souls of the wild things. Furthermore, I have a kindred sense of despair for the environmental future and a keen desire to protect and conserve that which remains.

This book has perhaps done for me what its original purpose was and that has been to make me more aware of my place on this Earth as a human being. The impact of my daily choices—even the most mundane, minimal things—on my environment is a big deal, and knowing and being conscious of that impact in order to improve oneself out of respect for other living things is perhaps the greatest first obstacle of all.

I have more to say of course, but I can’t articulate it all just yet. I will certainly be reading this book again.

[John Fredrickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mills has written here of her orchestration of her life around the notion that she could/should find a harmonious way of living on the earth that is not only non-damaging, but protective and restorative. She is candid and self-deprecatingly humorful as she portrays some of the events of her life.

It seems to me that this book should have been written as 2 books, a memoir and a plea for an ecological approach to our earth. The interleaving of these 2 themes in this text do not seem to flow well to me. While it opens with references to Walden, which seems completely appropriate, the text vacillates between knowledgeable references to the natural world and the Epicurean philosophy of living well and simply, but shifts (capriciously?) to episodes of her life that often feel self-indulgent and off-topic.

A major difficulty I had with this book is Mills' writing style. Ironically for a book that includes simplicity as a major theme, the author seems to go out of her way to write text that is florid throughout, and find obscure words that express what she wants to say. When I read other authors, I often do so with a dictionary handy, but in this book the writing style and word choices seem to get in the way of the book's subjects. This criticism appears to have been leveled at her before, as she references it in her book.

Interestingly, the final chapter is a terrific finish to the book.

[Nadene LeCheminant · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most beautifully written books I have ever read, and vitally important for our time. She writes about simplicity and sustainable living as an attractive rich option, rather than a deficit. It's not scarcity, but abundance.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I waiver between two and three stars on this book. It had parts that were interesting and deeply engaging, and then I felt like the author would rapidly shift out into somewhat self-indulgent discussion of living simply and Epicurean philosophy. Her description of the natural world and the stories from her past are what kept me on until the end. I think that I expected something from this book that it was not meant to deliver - a more nature-centered memoir. While nature/memoir is one of my most favorite subject areas, I think I will be releasing this one back into the wild for someone else to discover in a used bookstore.

[Linda Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm rereading this book as I just bought the hard cover edition, because I think every day about the simpler life inspired so beautifully in this book, and, since 2002, I've made progress in adapting simplicity, through my own efforts and serendipitous circumstance. Stephanie Mills is a gifted writer, and a stalwart supporter of the Great Lakes bioregion, and one of the women I admire most.

[Robin Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was going to be amazing, but it came off as rather contrived. Reminded me of all the city people who have vacation houses in my town and think that they are rugged people. I'm sure that's an unfair judgement, but the style of this book was so off-balance with the content that I found myself irritated and I put it down after the first half.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting plea for us to live simply and sustainably.

[Linda Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It's on the list of 8 books I'd take into the north woods. Oh wait. I already did. Michigan authors - we love them.