By Cecile Andrews
(New Society, 2006; $16.95)
We’re hammered, we’re slammed, we’re out of control. Happiness is on the decline in the most affluent country in the world and Americans are troubled by the destructiveness of a lifestyle devoted to money and status. Yet no-one seems to have a clue how to exit from the Fast Lane. Slow Is Beautiful analyzes the subtle consumer, political and corporate forces stamping the joy from our existence and provides a vision of a more fulfilling life through the rediscovery of caring community, unhurried leisure, and life affirming joie de vivre.
The Slow Life Movement reverberates around the world, challenging the frantic time-poverty plaguing everyone. It builds a culture of connection by challenging the consumer society and recreating vibrant local communities and a slower, more reflective experience of time where we savor our lives and recapture exuberance and laughter.
Offering inspiration and concrete ideas, Slow Is Beautiful will appeal to Baby Boomers nearing retirement, harried professionals with a social conscience, the one-time “middle class,” and 20-30-somethings who are now facing the sobering realities of constricted choices.
Cecile Andrews is a community educator, author of Circle of Simplicity and contributor to several books on living more simply and taking back our time. She and her husband are founders of Seattle’s Phinney Ecovillage, a neighborhood-based sustainable community. [She will be here in SLO on Monday, November 27, 7pm at the SLO Public Library.]
