The Unsettlers: In Search of the Good Life in Today's America in Homer Public Library 2018 Lit Lineup

Mar 02, 2017 Teresa rated it it was amazing

“The Unsettlers” by Mark Sundeen is a book for those of us who’ve imagined living life a degree or two less conventionally than most--more self-reliant, less materialistic, with a sense of well being that comes from a connection to the gifts nature gives us. Sundeen himself would fit into that category of dreamer, and he uses the dilemma of where to draw the line of unconventionality for himself as a premise for examining the three families in this book.

The first section introduces us to Sarah “The Unsettlers” by Mark Sundeen is a book for those of us who’ve imagined living life a degree or two less conventionally than most--more self-reliant, less materialistic, with a sense of well being that comes from a connection to the gifts nature gives us. Sundeen himself would fit into that category of dreamer, and he uses the dilemma of where to draw the line of unconventionality for himself as a premise for examining the three families in this book.

The first section introduces us to Sarah and Ethan, an earnest young couple who’ve settled in Missouri after finding a piece of land to fit their specific criteria. Their desire to grow most of their own food and be free from a dependency on cars or airplanes for transportation led them to a home with a year-round water source that is situated within biking distance of a train station.

Sarah and Ethan are not isolationists. They prioritize community and attend and host events in a nearby college town. They have tried with varying degrees of success to open their property and way of life to others who share their desire to live without fossil fuels or most anything else produced by corporations. Sundeen spends some time with them at the Possibility Alliance--the name they’ve given their home and project-- and seems truly moved and impressed by their way of life. His descriptions of their farm and lifestyle paint an appealing picture and his hope for the success of their experiment in radical simplicity is palpable.

Profiled in the middle section of “The Unsettlers” are Olivia and Greg whose story is less about finding the perfect piece of property and more about creating a sustainable life in what most would consider an unlikely place. This hard-working duo farms in Detroit. They launched the city’s first CSA, (community supported agriculture) and partnered with a friend to turn the manure from the Detroit Zoo into farmable soil.

Sundeen weaves the political and economic history of Detroit into his story of this farming couple, and the issues they have to contend with--city codes, looters, damaged earth--are not typical for more rural farmers. Olivia and Greg have to be both street smart and farm smart, and their ability to adapt to the demands of city farming is as admirable as their commitment to food justice.

Luci Brieger and Steve Elliot own and operate Lifeline Produce in the Bitterroot Valley in Montana. As I read about them in the third part of “The Unsettlers” I couldn’t help but think that this couple seemed familiar, possibly because their lifestyle is similar to many people who’ve decided to settle in Alaska. They are practical do-it-yourselfers, who’ve set certain standards for themselves that have less to do with saving the world and more to do with their deep convictions about how the world should work. There is a right way to do things and a wrong way, and laziness and overconsumption are wrong. They raised their now young adult children on hard work, hockey, thrift store clothes and essentially no processed foods. They also sent them to public schools with the belief that “the mix of social class and background are the underpinning of democracy.”

While the profiles of the three couples in “The Unsettlers” are the backbone of Sundeen’s book, it amounts to something much bigger overall. It’s an examination of our society juxtaposed against alternative, and quite likely better, ways of doing things. It was impossible for me to read it and not feel inspired to examine my own habits and choices.

In describing his experience of writing the book Sundeen says, “The three families I wrote about were not just living an alternative life. They had each taken on a fundamental aspect of how the world is broken, and had attempted, with all their might, to address it--in ways that felt sustainable, maybe even replicable. They inspired me. They challenged me not to quit my own dreaming just because my visions could never be made perfect.”

Here’s to making whatever small shifts we can toward a simpler and more fulfilling life, and here’s to the books like “The Unsettlers” that inspire our change.

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