The Good Life Lab is the kind of book that makes me suffer, torn between skepticism and hope. It’s the kind of title that draws my interest yet repels me at the same time. My biggest fear was that the author would come across as self-righteous: she does not. The thing I should have feared was the “radical” part. This book has the capacity to cause a watershed (or at least make you want to build a shed out of papercrete). There were times I wanted to run away and start a llama farm: I did not. But the seed has been planted.
Like I said, the title of the book intrigued me, but I wondered if someone could offer any wisdom about “the good life” in such a small book, especially without coming off as superior. It turns out that author Wendy Jehanara Tremayne can. Never coming across as preachy, she simply tells about her journey from consumerism to living in an off-grid, sustainable way. Her path is full of trial and error, mistakes and discoveries, and help--solicited and otherwise--from the community around her. While trying to live without using money or non-renewable resources has its difficulties, Tremayne demonstrates that the lifestyle many of us live today comes with costs and sacrifices, too, many of which we may not even be aware. An idea that resonated with me is that time is one of the biggest costs of living in a society driven by consumption. Although we are compensated monetarily for our time, if we have no time to enjoy what we’ve earned, what is it all for?
The value of The Good Life Lab is that it shows that people really can do a 180 if they’re willing and ready to make the change. Tremayne is honest about the challenges of embracing changes that are truly radical on an individual scale. But the joy is in the challenge, in testing your limits and discovering your strength. While I’m not going to run off today to the desert and start welding things, The Good Life Lab has made me think more about my everyday choices, and inspired me to take smaller steps to live a fuller, more sustainable life.