BOOK REVIEW: The Unsettlers: In Search of the Good Life in Today’s America by Mark Sundeen

Book: The Unsettlers: In Search of the Good Life in Today's America
Author: Mark Sundeen
Publisher: Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
Year First Published: 2016

ISBN: 9781594631580
Genre: non-fiction, homesteading, modern farming

• Pairs well with homemade lemonade in a mason jar, a front porch rocking chair, and a farmer’s bandanna (I always thought "bandanna" was spelled "bandana" but spell check says it is not. Hm....)

I have to admit that I did not read The Unsettlers: In Search of the Good Life in Today's America by Mark Sundeen in a timely manner – I was interrupted by moving house just as I was coming up on the last few chapters. 

But, funnily enough, that move was from a suburban three bedroom two-and-a-half bath suburban split-level house to 30 acres with a metal barn, a bunch of cows, and a fifth wheel in the country.

My move and the timing with my reading of The Unsettlers was pretty perfect, though not quite what I had planned.

I first came across The Unsettlers at my local library as I was wandering aimlessly, trying to kill time before an appointment. As often happens, I spotted the cover on a shelf, face out as a “highlighted” book and was intrigued by the cover. I am not ashamed to admit that I do judge books by their covers and often the cover is the deciding factor in whether or not a book gets to come home with me. I loved the whimsical hand doodled look and couldn’t resist the tagline of “In search of the good life in today’s America.” 

I mean, aren’t we all looking for the “good life” in some way or another?

The book captivated me right away and I quickly sped through chapters about grassroots farming movements in both rural and urban settings, backyard homesteading, and all manner of levels of commitment to living on and from the land. Although The Unsettlers is a work of non-fiction, exploring homesteading and “the good life” across the United States, it reads like a novel and I came to think of many of the people that Sundeen writes about as characters. I adored Olivia, an urban homesteader and pragmatist in Detroit and rural Luci, a no-nonsense woman of the land. I wanted to know these people. I wanted to meet them and learn from them.

Sundeen’s writing is so engaging that, by the time I did finish the book, I felt like I did actually know everyone he wrote about and as if I had learned from them. I learned perseverance in the face of adversity from Olivia and her experiences homesteading in crime addled areas of Detroit and I learned humbleness from Luci in rural Montana.

And, of course, I came away wanting to get my hands in the dirt and to start growing things! Right now, my tomato plants are putting out blossoms and I can’t wait to taste the first harvest!

The Unsettlers also brought back many memories of good times with my grandparents in their huge suburban backyard garden and time spent at my uncle’s farm (now my homestead!) with his cows and horses. I miss my grandparents and uncle very much, and I wish I could go back and relive those glorious days of snapping peas and beans in bowls, plucking carrots from the dirt, and scooping newly fallen apples off the ground. The satisfaction of growing your own food, cleaning it up and processing it, and making a meal out of it is nothing short of wonderful. It is indeed a good life!

If you have any interest in homesteading or farming in the United States or are just looking for a good non-fiction book that reads like a novel, I wholeheartedly encourage you to pick up The Unsettlers. I found it at my local library, but you can purchase it from Amazon HERE.