Dispatches from the Sweet Life ― One Family, Five Acres, and a Community's Quest to Reinvent the World

Many people fantasize about dramatically changing their lives, “chucking it all,” living in accordance with their ideals rather than the exigencies of job, bills, and possessions. William Powers actually does it. As chronicled in Twelve by Twelve, Powers lived in an off-grid tiny house in rural North Carolina. In New Slow City, Bill and wife Melissa inhabit a Manhattan micro-apartment in search of slow in the midst of the fastest city in the world. Here, the couple, baby in tow, search for balance, humanity, and happiness in Suraqueta, a town in Bolivia where the author discovers a blossoming town with a miniscule carbon footprint, organic farms, and community work parties. They build an adobe house beside a prolific orchard and weave their life into the community. They are not alone. Seekers including permaculturists, bio-builders, beer brewers, artists, university students, and all stripe of creative business persons have congregated, with diverse intentions. So have a variety of North American capitalist enterprises, everything from mines to malls, Big Agriculture to big buildings. Can the two compete? Find balance? The read is compelling, thought-provoking, and no matter the outcome, inspirational.

William Powers has worked for more than a decade in development aid and conservation in Latin America, Africa, Native North America, and Washington, DC. He is senior fellow at the World Policy Institute and is on the adjunct faculty of New York University. He speaks and writes widely as an expert on sustainable development and American culture.