By CJ Trent

Photo Courtesy of openlibrary.org

This book had been living on my reading pile for several months, on the bottom or lumped with others marked for later consumption.  I’d gotten it as a freebie in a shipment from a quirky antiquarian book dealer who enjoyed surprising her regular customers with books she’d enjoyed.

Physically, this is a small, gift-sized book; it would be shelved on the counter in a book store as an impulse buy, or showcased in self-help/inspirational with other similarly sized books intended for quick purchase. I thought this would be a quick, easy read and review; I was wrong.  Deford writes simply about living an intentionally simpler life; a life in harmony with our needs and passions, a life that accurately reflects what is most important to us. She talks about ways to slow down, accumulate and need less, and offers simple exercises in mindfulness to help us pay attention to the world we’ve created around ourselves, and to assess if this world truly reflects who we are, and what we love.  The book is arranged in sections – “Simply Yourself,” “Balanced Time,” Simply Together,” “Home Simple Home,” “The Working Life,” “Money Simplified,” “A Life Unplugged,” and “Simply Continuing.” Each section gently prods the reader to think about what matters most to us and to see if we are acting according to our passions.  She advocates writing down how we spend our time and money and tracking what we do that makes us happy, and offers ways to think and act differently if our daily lives do not reflect our authentic selves.

I’m still reading and re-reading and pondering what Deford has written about living more simply and more intentionally.

I recommend this book enthusiastically to anyone who is thinking about living a more mindful life.