Possum Living (Living Well Without a Job and With (Almost) No Money) is a 70's book by Dolly Freed that was recently republished. It's a short book and a quick read, but it's pretty interesting.
Here's a little intro from her blog (http://possumliving.net/blog/?paged=4):
In 1978, as a cocky 18 year old, I wrote a book about how my dad and I lived a rich and happy life in a middle-class neighborhood with only an occasional part-time job. We gardened, raised rabbits and chickens in the basement, and bought bulk food at a feed and grain store. The book was chock full of ideas for frugal living that worked so well we lived on the equivalent of $5800 a year in current dollars. We joked that if possums could live without a job, so could we, hence the title.
It’s been decades since I lived the full possum life, but its principles have given me tremendous confidence. I went to college with only a 7th grade education and lot of reading in the library, become a NASA engineer, switched to environmental education, was a college professor, and started my own business.
Ironically, I now see the same fears and problems occurring that prompted me to write the book in the first place returning—a staggering recession, worries about job markets, and concerns about natural resources.
And as I’ve gotten older, I find myself turning more and more to my possum ways, verifying that even if you can’t go the full possum, so to speak, being part possum can be comforting and prudent. Reprinting Possum Living seemed like a good idea.
More excerpts can be found at http://www.motherearthnews.com/modern-homesteading/living-well-without-a-job-and-with-almost-no-money.aspx
