3.5 stars

When the author, in her 40s, was diagnosed with a heart condition, she decided she wanted to downsize – considerably! She not only wanted to live in a tiny home, she wanted to build it herself. This is memoir about this journey.

I love tiny homes! Being the pack rat that I am, however (mostly for sentimental reasons), I could never see myself living in one. Dee’s home (although I don’t believe this is the case with most) also didn’t have plumbing and it had very little electricity (powered by solar panels). Because of this, she was unable to be completely independent, and lived in the backyard of a friend. Dee did help her friend (who had her own health issues) out quite a bit, as well. I felt like she was sort of a part-time roommate.

And yes, there was, eventually, a complaint where she needed to figure out a way the city would allow her to continue to live in her structure in a back yard. She was in a town(?)/city(?) in the Pacific Northwest: in Oregon, I think. I’m not sure where my city is currently at with allowing (or not) tiny homes, but I hope it will happen if it hasn’t already. I listened to the audio and I did enjoy listening to Dee’s journey. ( )

I wanted to like this more, and in general I can get behind the message that laughing your ass off is better than anything in the world, but. This is more of a book about how Dee discovers that cohousing and intentional community are the thing she values more than anything in the world, rather than a book about self-sufficiency in a tiny house. That's great, just not what I expected. And on the whole, she has a interesting journey and I'm glad to have read about it. I have two major beefs with it. One -- the consistent internal fighting about gender roles (man-hands, not being feminine because you want to build things, being a tiny person, a blonde, who is building your own house, how revolutionary!) and after a while that got really old. I expect that she hears that kind of thing from people around her all the time, and probably it gets old to her as well.

Secondarily, she built a tiny house with no running water; sold her regular house that she was living in with roommates; and then proceeds to live in a backyard where she goes in to one of the duplexes to use the shower/water/tv/electricity almost every day. Uh. It's like someone telling you earnestly that they want to make the world a better place by not owning a car, and then they proceed to ask you to drive them everywhere. I legit don't understand how the tiny house lifestyle is better, except that she's found someone else to pay the mortgage on the land so that she doesn't have to work as much. That message is really messed up.

I totally agree, by the way, that co-housing is awesome. That caring for our elders and getting to know the neighbor kids is amazing. That we all work too damn much of our lives away and that we should all have part-time jobs and the leisure to do things that matter to us, I just feel like this became how Dee gets the dream because everyone around her is willing to finance it and it just got weird over time. Clearly, she works her ass off, and is using her free time to help everyone around her, or they wouldn't put up with that nonsense, but I still found it confusing.

Oh, and why are you doing a building project in flip flops? That's just dumb. Buy some damn sneakers, or better yet, steel-toed boots. They make them for ladies, too. Having all your toes at the end of the day is a nice thing, and I bet you can fit a pair on your porch. ( )

I love tiny houses. I want to build one and live in it. My husband, who is a giant, does not share my love of small spaces. You see, he's over a foot taller than me, and would not like to live in the small box Dee Williams designed for herself and her dog.

A house on wheels? Yes, please. Then you can hit the road and go where the four winds take you. (Not literally, because I don't think this house would stand up to a tornado, but you take my point.) Sometimes life makes you stop and listen. The author had some health issues that made her take a different path. For some people it's tragedy. For some it's grief. For some it's a close call or a glimpse of someone else's horror. Whatever causes the wake-up call, more people need to hear it. Life is too short. Are you living the life you want?

She is a free-spirit, a vagabond, and thinks differently than most of the world. I like that. Dee, if you are reading this, I want to hang out on your front stoop and chat. I'll bring the coffee. ( )

Square Feet: 84. Possessions: 305.*

(*This headline is from the NY Times review - I had to swipe it.)

January is my time for sorting through clothes and books, cleaning out the freezer and diving into those mystery boxes under the stairs. By necessity, we are already fairly simplified given our 1,100 sq. ft row house -- but after reading this inspirational memoir -- we got nothing on Dee Williams.

Ms. Williams decided to build an eighty-four-square-foot house on wheels, by herself -- as a way to start building a simpler more meaningful life.

This authentic memoir tells of her challenges both building-wise and health-wise. She is not an experienced builder, but knows her way around tools, so she ventures ahead after meeting and studying others in the "tiny house" movement. It's not enough that she is dealing with a newly diagnosed heart condition and is often disabled and hospitalized, she also experiences grimace-worthy mishaps. She glues her hair into the siding, almost shears off her ear when some plywood catches on an earring, tries to secure the roof (in flip flops!) and falls from her sleeping loft when the ladder shifts out from under her.

But beyond the Three-Stooges-like mishaps, this is a book to inspire. How can you not be impressed (and perhaps even envious) of someone who can list everything she owns on one sheet of paper (the handwritten list is reproduced in the book). Also enviable, Ms. Williams can clean her entire house in ten minutes and her monthly bills run approximately eight dollars. Granted, she is living in a friend's back yard and using this friends water, laundry and shower. But Ms. Williams has her own kitchen - one burner, her own toilet - compostable and a sleeping loft with a view of the stars - risky ladder notwithstanding.

I was fascinated at Ms. Williams perseverance in the face of many hurdles -- obstructive city codes, a newly prescribed oxygen contraption that meant snaking a breathing tube from a loud generator into her house, and an aging dog that she carries up and down the sleeping loft ladder. But she remains positive and loving throughout.

Happily, the author is also quirky and likeable, she still lusts after things she doesn't need at Target (I have the same problem, I blame the hypnotic bulls-eye logo), she delights in fun underwear and prefers flip flops to shoes. There is also a quiet soulfulness throughout, the reader is aware that Ms. Williams has a degenerative disease. She writes with a quiet grace about her newly acquired time to savor every moment -- as in this quote.

"I stumbled into a new sort of 'happiness', one that didn't hinge on always getting what I want but rather, on wanting what I have. It's the kind of happiness that isn't tied so tightly to being comfortable (or having money and property), but instead is linked to a deeper sense of satisfaction - to a sense of humility and gratitude, and a better understanding of who I am in my heart. I found a certain bigness in my little house - a sense of largeness, freedom, and happiness that comes when you see there's no place else you'd rather be."

This book could have used some strong editing, it does ramble off the tracks, but it should provoke all of us to think on the question "how much is enough?". Given America's self storage business is a $25-billion a year industry, Ms. Williams experiences are an inspiration. This book is not so much of a "how-to" guide but a "why to" memoir. While not everyone is suited to such an extremely tiny house, this book will make you contemplate the "too much stuff" syndrome -- why not simplify, declutter and live smaller?
All my book reviews at at http://www.bookbarmy.com
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The Big Tiny I recently became interested in tiny house living, so I thought this book would be a good place to start. I was attracted to the idea that somebody built their own tiny house, especially a woman, and wrote a memoir about their experience. I gave this book 3.5 stars because the book took a different direction than what I had anticipated and it left me feeling a little disappointed. The title led me to believe that I was going to learn how the author build her tiny house with all of the nitty gritty details. Instead it was more about her personal life and what led up to her decision to sell her big house to go tiny. She did discuss building her tiny house, the anxiety, etc., but it lacked the details I was craving. It was still an entertaining read and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in learning about tiny house living, but just don't expect it to be a how-to memoir. ( )