See You in a Hundred Years: Four Seasons in Forgotten America | Logan Ward

See You in a Hundred Years: Four Seasons in Forgotten America | Logan Ward | a sweet story

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See You in a Hundr...

	See You in a Hundred Years: Four Seasons in Forgotten America Logan Ward Benbella Books, 2007 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 18 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

To save their marriage and their sanity, the author and his wife sold their belongings, packed up their two-year-old son, and moved to a rundown farmhouse in the country without any plans past surviving the year. Living as though it were the year 1900, they struggled with recalcitrant livestock, garden-destroying bugs, rain that would not come, and their own insecurities, to ultimately discover a sense of community and a sense of themselves that changed not only their marriage, but the entire Swoope, Virginia community. Lyrically told and powerfully evocative, this memoir for the modern age deals with the growing sense of disassociation and yearning to escape the frenetic pace of daily life in today?s society.

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Read this and leave "life as it used to be" to the pros

I became interested in this book because it was featured in my Vanderbilt alumni magazine. It made a great article, and it makes a great book. I gobbled it up in a weekend. It is fascinating to see how the author and his family adjust to life without electricity, running water, toilets and baths, air conditioning, and all of those fabulous inventions of the 20th century. Logan and Heather's lives quickly separate by gender, with Heather doing more of the inside work (cooking, cleaning, child care) and Logan doing more of the outside work (caring for livestock, tending the garden, dealing with the draft horse). I would have liked to have read more from Heather's point of view, but we get glimpses of her side of the story now and again, especially on the day they decide to switch roles. This is a wonderful book for those who enjoyed the PBS series 1900 House (or any of those iterations)and anyone who contemplates "getting back to the way things used to be."

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a sweet story

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. The adventures and misadventures of Logan and his family kept me turning the pages and wishing I was not about to finish. He did a beautiful job of showing the sense of community that developed throughout the story. I lost track of the number of times I teared up. Very touching. I look forward to more from this author.

I liked this book

This book held my interest. I was actually fascinated. There are good descriptions of their life, the enormous amount of work they did and what they accomplished.Logan ward used humor beautifully. I was also shocked by their boy scout encounters. I'm going to a book discussion with the author in a few weeks. I can't wait to meet him and ask questions.

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Engaging, thought-provoking story

Have you ever felt so stressed out that you wished for simpler times? That's exactly how Logan and Heather Ward felt. They were living in New York with their baby - Logan was a writer and Heather worked for a justice-reform think tank. They felt like they worked all the time, but were so stressed they never had time to enjoy anything. They decided to embark on a year long experiment and live like Americans did in 1900.

They decided that "If it didn't exist in 1900, we will do without. And that means we're not going to have e-mail, phone, computer, credit cards, utility bills, or car insurance."

The Wards sold their apartment in New York and bought a farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. They had the electricity and water cut off and installed an outhouse and a wood cookstove. They bought goats for milk, a horse for transportation and seeds to plant. They did keep a phone in case of emergency, but kept it unplugged.

See You in A Hundred Years: Four Seasons in Forgotten America is Logan Ward's account of their year. It is published by BenBella Books. Logan is brutally honest in his account. At the beginning things were very difficult and the relationship between Logan and Heather was strained. As the year progressed, they became more confident and more adept at the challenges they faced. The Wards made a lot of friends and developed a real sense of community.

Neighbors came to tell the Wards about the attack on the World Trade Center and Logan's reaction was "Over the past few months, I have been calmed by the lack of twenty-first-century distractions and humbled by the power of nature. Like the weather, the terrorist attacks were beyond my control. All I can do is cling to the simple assurance of daily chores."

This is a fascinating, well written book and I thorougly enjoyed it. It certainly gave me some things to think about. I found this article about their experiment. In it, Logan said the five things they missed the most were the kitchen sink, washing machine, music, a good pencil sharpener and sandals. The five things they didn't miss at all were the refrigerator, television, telephone, daily news and processed food. Somehow, I think my lists would be different.

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A book about living without

The author in the Year 2000 is a writer living in an apartment in New York City. He & his wife decide to live for a year as if it were a hundred years ago.

So, do they turn off the electricity in their NYC apartment, & use only things available to writers in NYC in the year 1900? No. Rather, instead of just doing without post-1900 things, they also become dirt farmers, and try to be as self sufficient as possible.

Before I read the book, I had viewed this as essentially a lifestyle change. However, as the book progresses, both the author & I realize that living dirt-farmer 1900-style is very hazardous to one's health & even one's life.

The saving grace of the book is the author's candor & keen observations.

Possibly the best summary of the book is at the top of Page 91:
"It's the same story all over again. Just like in New York, here I am nervous, preoccupied, unable to focus my energy. Instead of fielding phone calls and e-mails, meeting deadlines, chasing checks, and trying to keep up with the bills, I fret over the weather and insects, feeling frustrated, angry, and inadequate."

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

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