Young Homeless Professional Book II of the Ersatz Trilogy

Let me start off by saying this is an excellent premise. How much does anyone actually need to live? Particularly someone who has a decent job ought to be able to thrive much closer to nature than most of us do. There is actually a growing movement toward "tiny homes" - check out this intriguing project in that line by a science professor at Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, TX, who renovated and lived for a year in a dumpster: http://www.salon.com/2014/09/29/my_boyfriend_lives_in_a_dumpster

Granted not everyone could be homeless - consider the spectacle if Manhattan tried it - there might be enough restaurants, but certainly not enough bathrooms or parking or room in parks for sleeping bags. That's not the point, though. This is a trial run of an idea, and it's worth a look.

The first problem with the book, however, is that the author, Kenny Peavy, isn't really homeless. He has a large vehicle equipped with the basics - he just sleeps or entertains outside sometimes. The content is unfortunately rather shallow and off-topic, too. Yes, a home isn't just a house (as the author tells us), but we already pretty much know that. Yes, there are people who don't know where their food comes from, but the author tends to dine out in restaurants rather than forage or buy at local markets or grow anything in a community garden. There's too much extraneous material that doesn't illuminate the premise. A lot of text is spent talking about parties, friends, and dates, which is undoubtedly supportive and fun (everyone needs a family or tribe of some sort), but isn't really very interesting to a reader not in that group, and doesn't really dig very far into the notion of either home, homelessness, or living close to nature.

In short, lots of potential, but not enough thought in this thought experiment.

Cannot recommend.

I received a copy of this book in return for a review.

Whilst I did enjoy this little book, I was hoping for a bit more description about the actual 'living outdoors'. It read more to me like a dissertation on a social experiment, citing observations on human nature and our relationship with each other and the world around us. Nothing wrong with this - I just hoped for more.

Homeless is an incredibly emotive word. It immediately draws up images of people that I have experienced and encountered. For someone to voluntarily give up their roots does not mean they are homeless. People don't volunteer to be homeless.

The author decided to experience a travelling lifestyle after deciding that rent and the associated costs of living in a house/apartment was too much. What this person is doing is wild camping - that's recreational. Wild camping is not being homeless.

The author gives up his home to save costs and shed the materialism of a home, but then joins a gym to shower, buys takeouts for dinner - he's a professional earning a wage, so he can afford it. He buys a cell phone to stay in contact, and a laptop to do his work on. His job allows him to oogle co-eds, make the most of free food, cheapo perks and sofa-surf (taking advantage of friends and colleagues who pay rent/mortgage, whilst extolling the virtues of being "homeless")

A pointless book. Thankfully, it's relatively short.