5 Acres & A Dream The Book: The Challenges of Establishing a Self-Sufficient Homestead (5 Acres & A Dream Homesteading Series)

This book is an excellent read for those interested in self-sufficiency and the simple, rural life. Rather than a manual, it is a memoir regarding a couple of empty nesters (age 40-60?) who search for and find a small property to facilitate a satisfying and more simple life.Unlike the majority of "homesteaders" who are young and, perhaps, more affluent, this book sets forth a work in progress which seems to move forward despite a huge lack of capital, a shorter time horizon than the young possess, and a husband who still engages in substantial off-premises work. Although the homestead is in the Appalachians the book as a certain New England flavor.Swirling through this memoir are thoughts about the various philosophies and motivations felt by others and those of the authors. In particular the chapter on "Obstacles" is a nice discussion on the couple's foundational values and our consumerist society in general.This is not a do-it-yourself manual, at least in so far as it describes establishing a homestead. The author is candid about her and her husband's limitations and mistakes. It is hard not to second guess a few of their decisions. That is not to say that they don't accomplish a lot and do some very smart things in a relatively short period. However, they tend to sort of lurch into some situations. One I found sadly funny is their decision to raise animals. The author recounts the old farm saying that you should never name animals you may have to eat or kill. Yet, all the edible animals seem to have names. She recounts their nerves and misgivings regarding dispatching a rooster and the great deal of wasted effort to save a goat. She sort of proves the point to not giving them names, by suffering accordingly.Nevertheless, I agree with all these rave reviews. The book is a well-written, easy read with a number of black and white pictures to "put you in the place." It is filled with a lot of interesting facts which would be useful to any other homesteader. The author's ruminations on their view of society and their own reasons for homesteading are very personal yet food for anyone's thought. On balance, I find this one of the best reads on homesteading if you are not searching for a "manual." Also, the book includes a plethora of references and suggested readings plus a short appendix of "country" recipes that look worth trying.

5 Acres and a Dream is a fantastic blog, one I've been reading for a couple of years now. I've always been impressed with homesteader Leigh's (and husband Dan's) measured, logical approach. When a problem presents itself, they research and come up with the best solution for them.When I first got a hint that maybe a book was in the works I was excited and also a bit curious. Would it just be another book about how to homestead? How much of Leigh and Dan would be in the book? Would it simply be a collection of posts from the blog?Alas, I had nothing to worry about. The book is outstanding!Sure, the book talks a lot about homesteading, and there are even some recipes included. The footnotes and reference section provide a wealth of further reading and information.But where the book shines best is where the author talks about their mindset and relates their thought process -- what brought them to each decision they made.I did not buy this book strictly as a "how to" manual for homesteading. Rather, I wanted to know more about Leigh and Dan's experience, more about the road that brought them here. But don't get me wrong, you could certainly do worse for homesteading information -- the book is stuffed full of hints, tips, and handy references for everything from cheesemaking to forestry. Often, Leigh includes alternatives or options for other ways to produce, grow, fix, or care for various components of the homestead.And where other books can come across as preachy or condescending, 5 Acres and a Dream: the Book has a friendly, helpful tone. The author talks about why they made the decisions they made, but does not chastise those that haven't made the same choices.She talks about what worked and what did not. She mentions their failures, rather than painting the whole experience in the rosy "DIY" light that we get on television and most other books on the subject.I loved this book! And it's a beauty, certainly worthy of your bookshelf. Leigh packed the book with dozens and dozens of photos, really bringing their homestead to life. The writing's concise and the layout is so well done. Often, self-published books fall victim to layout/structural issues, but Leigh (as usual!) did her homework and devoted a year to getting it right. Yes, true to her philosophy, she did everything herself rather than hiring out the various parts of production. That meant learning many new opensource software programs and diving into self-publishing head first. The results speak for themselves.I highly recommend this book.

I came across this book before I read the 5 Acres & A Dream blog. After reading through a large portion of the blog, I decided I wanted to purchase the book. I'm so glad I did!This book is NOT the same information you've seen repeated over and over again in countless other books by people who may or may not have been through it themselves.This book is NOT about cute chicken coops, homesteading fashion trends or DIY decorating.This book doesn't spend countless chapters telling you WHY you should be homesteading or WHY you should be growing your own veggies and raising your own animals.This book IS everything I had hoped for!This book gives the reader a realistic view of homesteading. When she writes about the decisions made on their property (a new roof, feed for the animals, the wood stove and wood cook stove, hot water heaters, alternate power sources, etc) she explains how those decisions were reached (which is very helpful and time-saving for someone - me - who has yet to make those same decisions). I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was sad to reach the end. I just finished reading it and am ready to read it again.This is NOT a "how-to" book. If you need a step by step guide this book is not for you...yet. If you want to read about one couple's experience and learn from their mistakes and their successes, then this book is a perfect choice.On a side note, if you read the 5 Acres & A Dream blog, note that this book does not cover much at all about the renovations done on their old house. It's mostly about the land (and that suits me just fine).

I bought the book after following Leigh's blog for years - and I wasn't disappointed! it contains not only the story about Leigh's and Dan's progress in becoming self-sufficient on her homestead, but also many tips and hints, ideas that might work for somebody else etc. it even includes a few recipes:) nice book - if you've always dreamt about owning your own smallholding and living from it - give it a try. even if you decide against it it makes for an interesting read.

Full of valuable information, insight, and all in all qn enjoyable read. I bought both the books!

I found Leigh's blog online a short time ago, and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I then decided to buy her book, which is very well written, and different from her blogs. We are considering changing our lifestyle to something similar to Leigh, and the book did answer some questions for us. For those not even considering this, it is a readable 'coffee table' type book which is easy to dip in and out of. Both myself and my husband enjoyed the read. Recommended

A brilliant book !!Inspiring if you're thinking of setting up in this kind of lifestyle, and so very useful if you're already half way there and looking for advice. My well thumbed copy has earnt it's place on the bookshelf for good.

Very Inspiring book, they pursued there dream and against the odds got there, I hope there is going to be a follow up as there homestead develops.