Choosing Eden

by Adrienne Langman

"Our friends thought we had taken leave of our senses. Larry and I had traded Florsheim wingtips and Manolo Blahnik sandals for muddy steel-capped work boots. We had given up brioches and cappuccinos in favour of homemade bread and jam. In our fifties, we took on the heavy manual labour of farming that would have better suited us in our twenties, and our plan was to become as self-sufficient as possible."

When global oil reserves run dry, the price of food, fuel and other everyday necessities will skyrocket out of the reach of ordinary people. An energy crisis is coming, and it will change the world we know forever.

Adrienne and Larry are an average middle-aged couple who have left their children and grandchildren, their friends, their jobs and a comfortable home in Sydney and set themselves up on a twelve-acre block in Nana Glen in northern New South Wales. They aren't chasing a whimsical dream or planning an idyllic retirement. Their goal is to establish a fully self-sustaining food farm, as quickly as possible, that will provide for them and their family in the uncertain years ahead.

CHOOSING EDEN is Adrienne's inspiring first-hand account of their efforts to learn how to get back to basics and live off the land. It's a fascinating story told with warmth and humour, but it has an urgent message: we need to make changes in our lives, and the sooner we act the better.

As seen on the Seven Network's The Real Seachange.

Genres: Nonfiction

Trade Paperback

First published September 3, 2007

Reviews

[Henri Moreaux · Rating 3 out of 5]

Choosing Eden bills itself as a lifestyle change book cataloging a couples change from inner city suburbia to rural farm owners and the trials and tribulations they face along said journey.

What it really is, is a touch of that, with a liberal dosing of personal manifesto on preparing for doomsday when oil runs out/is unaffordable and society collapses.

I understand some people move to the country for this reason, no problem with that, however this book just piles on the we-are-right-everyone-else-is-ignorant diatribes making it hard to enjoy the other parts. You can get your point across without ramming your agenda down people's throats; chapter after chapter.

I also struggled to get through the selfish isolation in her suburban life before the move. It was genuinely baffling as to how someone could be so out of touch with the environment around them, and made the future potential value of the book seem resoundingly average. I wasn't wrong, it pretty much is - a few interesting tales, but overall nothing you won't find elsewhere.

Props to the ability to write well, but the content of the writing puts it at a solid resoundingly average 2.5

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

It might be peak oil, it might be a climate or environmental crisis in 5 years or 50 years or never... or it might be that it simply feels right rather than being told by big business and politicians what is best for you while you churn along on the work to live to work wheel... to choose your own version of Eden, as did Adrienne Langman and her husband Larry because the spectre of peak oil removed the convenient blinders that made them and far too many others oblivious to the economic construct that is global overconsumption which no-one can save us from except ourselves, taking one step away from it at a time. While you're trying to figure out if it's all worth it, read this book, and decide if the life you've got is the life you really want, or just maybe like the Langman's and more ordinary people than you'd ever imagine, a less-is-more life might just possibly be the answer you've been looking for.

[Donald · Rating 1 out of 5]

Peak Oil & self-sufficiency are important topics but this story is very hard for me to take. 50% of the text needs to be edited out along with about 100 exclamation marks and all the lame jokes (of which there are many). Adrienne's journey from ignorance to mediocrity may do the cause a dis-service in that she is very hard to take seriously given the low way in which she presents herself early in the book. And I can't believe she can be Australian and be interested in peak oil and know how to look at senate committee transcripts on the web but fail to notice the politician who's been pushing for action on this for years. Adrienne, if you're there, go to http://christine-milne.greensmps.org.au/. I could not finish the book so please forgive me if you gave Sen Milne got a mention later in the text.

[Sammyjo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was delighted to find this book as I was looking for a real-world account of someone in my part of the whole who had made the move to the country.

I found this book to be lightly conversational, informative and thought-provoking as Langman describes her fears for the world after Peak Oil, and her hopes for her own piece of paradise.

I particularly enjoyed the little snippets of knowledge she discovers, and the little tidbits of knowledge she shares with readers, all a nice proof that experiencing events with someone can provide you with knowledge and information you may not have found elsewhere.

An engaging read, I hope to find more of its kind; and I hope her "Eden" continues to give her joy as she's described in her book!

[Lindsay Eaton]

I loved this inspiring account by Australian Adrienne Langman of how and why she and her husband, a middle-aged, corporate couple, moved from a comfortable life in suburban Sydney to self-sufficiency in rural NSW. Well-written, and packed with information, this is a must-read for anyone who knows about Peak Oil and a should-read for anyone who doesn't. Highly recommended - it's going to be the next addition to my bookcase.

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book!, There is also a follow up in one of the Gardening Australia magazines, I wish she would write another one. This is the book that launched my dream and gave me somewhere to focus for my goals. It is inspirational and thought provoking. It is about one couple and their journey towards self sufficiency, how they dealt with disbelievers and ridicule and all the wonderful new friends they made along the way.

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

So now I don't know whether to buy a farm and a gun, or just read something more enjoyable next time. I wanted to read a book about a major change in lifestyle, not a manifesto that kept me awake at night. Are we really headed for looting and violence as oil prices rise? Mental note: join the Australian Green Party.

[Darlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed laughing my way through this book, despite the serious topic. I would have preferred more discussion of setting up the farm and less hitting us over the head with peak oil worst-case scenarios, but I got enough out of it to make it worthwhile.