The Unsettlers

In Search of the Good Life in Today's America

By: Mark Sundeen

Narrated by: Mark Sundeen

“An in-depth and compelling account of diverse Americans living off the grid.” —Los Angeles Times

The radical search for the simple life in today’s America.

On a frigid April night, a classically trained opera singer, five months pregnant, and her husband, a former marine biologist, disembark an Amtrak train in La Plata, Missouri, assemble two bikes, and pedal off into the night, bound for a homestead they've purchased, sight unseen. Meanwhile, a horticulturist, heir to the Great Migration that brought masses of African Americans to Detroit, and her husband, a product of the white flight from it, have turned to urban farming to revitalize the blighted city they both love. And near Missoula, Montana, a couple who have been at the forefront of organic farming for decades navigate what it means to live and raise a family ethically.

A work of immersive journalism steeped in a distinctively American social history and sparked by a personal quest, The Unsettlers traces the search for the simple life through the stories of these new pioneers and what inspired each of them to look for -- or create -- a better existence. Captivating and clear-eyed, it dares us to imagine what a sustainable, ethical, authentic future might actually look like.

A seriously wonderful book

I very much enjoy this work. At a few points I was confused by stories inside stories, but quickly caught on. This might be the closest thing to a overview of homesteading and counter cultural with an eye to the world context. It was also a beautiful book.

Excellent reporting and reflections!

Backstories were personal and meaningful. Would have been more interesting to use either more narrators or various intonations by one reader.

LoVed it. Worth the time. Fresh perspectives

Really enjoyed the full book. Listened to it with my son. It was a refreshing perspective and really made me think about choices that many times get taken for granted.

Excellent. Researched. Relevant.

In depth, personal, well -researched, Sundeen's is a book for our times. He stretches back to the Founding Fathers, through slavery and the Great Depression, and into Reganomics and the death of the family farm. But he does it through three personal, compelling stories. The three couples in the book are what make it a great story.

Inspiring!

Listened to this commuting the 75 miles to and from my 9-5 job. As a person who desperately wants to take the plunge and commit to the simple life, this book gave me hope. I smiled and nodded and cheered on Ethan and Sarah, Olivia and Greg, Luci and Steve, and of course, Mark and Cedar. Next stop, Wendell Berry!