 |
     |
| BOOK
REVIEWS AND EMAILS TO THE AUTHOR |
"It
is an excellent story, well written, and in my opinion,
a "must read" for those contemplating building a
Straw Bale home. Unlike the 'how-to' books, this
is her story - a single mom with two teen-age kids
and limited funds." -- Bob Bolles, Sustainable Earth Enterprises
|
"This
truly is a great read whether you're building a house
of straw, wood, recycled soda bottles, old tires or
anything else. Although I wouldn't consider this a
how-to-manual, it really does provide the reader with
a great deal of information you wouldn't usually get
your hands on unless you paid a building contractor
or consultant."-- Sara Banning, Tucson, AZ
"This
book is not as much about how to build a house to
me as it is about how to build a life. It's about
making decisions based on a responsibility to humanity
and respect for life and how doing this will push
us to strive for excellence and accept nothing less
than everything we can give -- and how marvelous the
results are. This book is an exercise in how to live
with yourself and triumph by simply standing behind
your beliefs and having the courage to pursue your
dreams.
"I
am utterly inspired by this charming woman who has
truly put into practice the theory that life isn't
about what you have, but how you live. Read this book
whether you are planning on building a house or not."
--
Christina Iizumi, Tucson, AZ
|
Wow
Carolyn,
You
have gotten me through this week of 9/11 and personal
challenges. I just wanted to thank you for your inspiration...Thank
you for your wonderful storytelling in your book.
I read it every night in bed. It is so refreshing
and beautiful how you are so honest and how you did
it!!! Step by step! Your hands have worked a miracle!--
Claire Kellerman, Santa Barbara, CA
"The
greatest value of the book, to me, was the emotional
impact building the house had on you during the process
and sharing your hopes, fears, and financial ups and
downs. It brought home the reality of actually building
a straw bale house opposed to the technical descriptions
of what straw bale homes consist of and how the bales
are stacked."-- Bob and Mary Copeland, Yuma,
AZ
|
"Your
book gave me more hope than I can tell you."
--
Annie McElderry
Nederland, CO
|
"When
I saw your book I bought it without a second thought.
I am glad I did. I loved every page... I will remember
your story when I am building my home... [especially]
when I want to give up due to things getting too hard."--
Doug McCabe, Sierra Vista, AZ
|
Carolyn's
book is a wide-as-life account vividly encompassing
all of the foibles and follies, hopes and dreams,
heartaches and heartbreaks, breakthroughs and celebrations,
large and small joys that the author - a single mother
of two teenaged boys - experienced pursuing her goal
of building a beautiful, affordable, high-functioning
strawbale house.
The
story covers both learning and doing, which are often
uncomfortably overlapped despite her admirable efforts
to inform and educate herself beforehand (which anybody
would do well to emulate). The thorough, readable,
and very human record of her travails and celebrations
contains a tidy wealth of usable details and tips
as well.
One
thing that I most appreciated was its narrative sense
of time and effort. Where how-to books might be filled
with factual material on topics like how to prepare
a foundation or sheathe a roof, this book describes
in grueling detail not only just what such innocuous-sounding
instructions can actually entail, but that things
which have absolutely nothing to do with the house
- let alone the task at hand - also keep happening
at the same time... and they have to be dealt with.
Even
though I'm not a desert-dweller, or a woman (this
book is very much from a woman's perspective), and
the whole of the author's circumstances couldn't be
much more dissimilar from mine, I found it easy to
identify with and learn from the story.
I
think this kind of powerfully-grounded narrative volume
has been noticeably missing from the strawbale bookshelf
for quite a long time, and I applaud its arrival.
Synopsis:
A well-told real-life tale for all audiences which
contains a lot more specific information about building
than one might expect.
|
|
 |
|
|