I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. Living an austere lifestyle isn't necessarily the stuff or riveting prose, but Mark Sundeen's strong writing makes us care about the individuals he chronicles. As he lays it out, it's truly amazing the level of dedication, effort, and energy his subjects bring to disconnecting from the norms of modern life: the thoughtless use of fossil fuels, the reliance on corporate food, the Internet, and others. You see how powerfully grounded these people become when they're forced to confront who they really are without the white noise and distracting comforts of modern society. One of the characters in the book had ten miscarriages while living in a teepee in Montana. (Eventually she gave birth to three children.) Another refuses to ride even in someone else's automobile. At the core of this book is the question: If every action you take does not protect the Earth or promote justice, why are you taking that action? It's a remarkably difficult personal standard to meet, yet the people in this book somehow manage to meet it despite the temptations of contemporary American culture.I read this book faster than I had planned, and I will think about it more than I would have guessed. Sundeen provides a window into a world of people who have uncompromising integrity in a world that increasingly seems willing to fudge, evade, and indulge. I'm grateful for the reminder.