Rezension: "Year of Less" von Cait Flanders

Dieses Buch stand schon länger auf meiner "Lesen Will"-Liste, aber der noch recht hohe Preis und die gemischten Rezensionen haben mich bisher abgeschreckt. Jetzt war es als Kindle-Buch auf Amazon aber reduziert, also hab ich zugeschlagen!

Rezension: Year of Less von Cait Flanders * >> 

Klappentext:

In her late twenties, Cait Flanders found herself stuck in the consumerism cycle that grips so many of us: earn more, buy more, want more, rinse, repeat. Even after she worked her way out of nearly $30,000 of consumer debt, her old habits took hold again. When she realized that nothing she was doing or buying was making her happy—only keeping her from meeting her goals—she decided to set herself a challenge: she would not shop for an entire year.

The Year of Less documents Cait’s life for twelve months during which she bought only consumables: groceries, toiletries, gas for her car. Along the way, she challenged herself to consume less of many other things besides shopping. She decluttered her apartment and got rid of 70 percent of her belongings; learned how to fix things rather than throw them away; researched the zero waste movement; and completed a television ban. At every stage, she learned that the less she consumed, the more fulfilled she felt.

The challenge became a lifeline when, in the course of the year, Cait found herself in situations that turned her life upside down. In the face of hardship, she realized why she had always turned to shopping, alcohol, and food—and what it had cost her. Unable to reach for any of her usual vices, she changed habits she’d spent years perfecting and discovered what truly mattered to her.

Blending Cait’s compelling story with inspiring insight and practical guidance, The Year of Less will leave you questioning what you’re holding on to in your own life—and, quite possibly, lead you to find your own path of less.

Über die Autorin (von der "About"-Seite ihres Blogs >> )

I published my first magazine when I was 11 years old. It consisted of four pages filled with interviews with my family and our neighbours, and included beautiful Clip Art only available in Word 95. After printing a handful of issues, and stuffing them into mailboxes up and down the street, I stopped production and shut it down—but I left the computer turned on.

After a failed attempt at going to school for business, I found my way back to writing when I was 19. I completed a two-year communications diploma program, where I learned both the editorial and technical skills required to produce digital publications (like way better versions of my first magazine), as well as audio and video work. From there, I got my degree in Communications with an interest in media and cultural studies; this basically means I’m curious about how media + technology affect us. Now, I’m also curious about how it impacts consumer trends (aka what we buy and why, our relationships with brands, how we consume information, etc.). Too nerdy? Sorry, not sorry.

I haven’t always been smart or made the best decisions. In fact, when I was in the middle of finishing my degree, I realized I was maxed out with nearly $30,000 of debt. I had a really unhealthy relationship with alcohol for 14 years. I also have a few tattoos that I would happily remove. Fortunately, I made one great impulse decision in 2011, which was to start this blog. Here, I have written about all the ways I continually challenge myself to change my habits, my mindset and my life; this includes paying off my debt, completing a two-year shopping ban and doing a year of slow living experiments. And in January 2018, I published my first book, The Year of Less (a memoir), which became a Wall Street Journal bestseller.

Und, wie hat es mir gefallen?

The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store by Cait Flanders
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hm. Weiß nicht so recht. Frau Frugalwoods hat mir deutlich besser gefallen, obwohl das Thema ein ganz ähnliches ist und beide Bücher eher ein Erfahrungsbericht als eine "So-musst-Du-es-machen" Anleitung sind.

Bei Frau Flanders war mir der "Shopping Ban" zu sehr "Nebenevent", es geht (gefühlt) hauptsächlich um ihre Alkoholprobleme (die sie aber schon vor 2 Jahren losgeworden ist) und um familiären Hickhack, mit dem sie sich herumschlagen musste.

Aber das Buch war gut zu lesen und die Tipps im Anhang sind so schlecht nicht. Wer aber ein gutes Buch zum Einstieg ins Thema "Bewusster Konsumieren" sucht, dem würde ich eher Frau Frugalwoods empfehlen, auch wenn es bei ihr weniger um Konsumverzicht als um Sparsamkeit geht - ok, das eine hängt eng mit dem anderen zusammen.

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Kennst Du vielleicht Erfahrungsberichte von Eurpäern, die in eine ähnliche Richtung gehen? Schreib es mir doch bitte in die Kommentare!

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