(Reviewed by Pat Luboff)
There are a few books I’ve read that have had this effect on me. I look forward to my reading time, usually nap time or bedtime, because the book is there waiting for me. And, as I near the end of the book, I begin to feel sad because I know I will soon be saying good-bye to the book. This book was one of those.
I was attracted to this book’s subject matter, sustainability and permaculture. My husband and I are, very slowly and not so surely, pursuing those goals on our five acres north of Nashville, TN. What the book offered was very little in the nuts and bolts of how we could accomplish those goals, but a whole lot about being human trying to accomplish those goals.
The adventures of Dan and his life partner Holly in a remote location in Mexico are so easy and fun to read, you could almost miss the profound lessons the experience teaches them. Their “radical simplicity” consists of solar electricity, solar water heating, natural building processes, organic farming, animal husbandry and the building of a community for learning about these things. There is a myriad of complications in the realization of this simplicity!
Dan’s presence shines through all the stories of triumphs and tragedies; his warmth, humor, self-doubt, and his spiritual and cultural growth as he learns through his mistakes. He and Holly leave behind high-pressure high-income businesses in the U.S. and take on enormous task after task to create their Mexican dream. In the process, Dan becomes Mexicanized, learning not only the language, but also the vision of life and experience of time as mostly “now.” I am reminded of the premise of one of my favorite movies “Arrival,” in which the linguist who learns the aliens’ language begins to think like they do. In Mexico, Dan learns, there is an easy-going practicality that lets “mañana” take care of whatever doesn’t get done today.
So, as I linger on the last page of the book and leave behind the sunshine and the the music, the parade of fascinating people, the goats, horses, dogs, pigs, donkeys, snakes, scorpions, spiders, bees, trees and lush vegetation, I am sad.
Dan and Holly have created a sustainability education center with facilities and housing for retreats. Visit https://ranchosolymar.com to find out about it.
