Possum Living

As a teenager I relished anything that smacked of a return to simpler times. I ate up any book that told me how to live simpler and a little closer to the ground. The Whole Earth Catalog figured prominently in this discovery process as it gave me access to tools promoting sustainability. In its pages I discovered a book by a young woman (17!) who, along with her father, showed steps to do this for real, as they were both doing it for real. The book, which was published in 1978, was entitled "Possum Living."

In its pages were all kinds of tips to living a frugal, but full life, high on the hog (literally) without all that much money (also literally). Its author, desiring neither riches or fame, went by a pseudonym: Dolly Freed. Being that we were in tough economic times then, the book was a big hit. After a little publicity and an appearance on Merv Griffin's talk show, Dolly disappeared.

I always wondered what happened to her. Every once in a while I would put her name into Google with no results. Two days ago Dolly finally popped up. It seems that she grew up to have a wonderful life. After dropping out of school in the seventh grade, she went on to go to college and then become a NASA engineer, helping to answer how the Challenger shuttle tragedy occurred.

She reemerged because she thought that she should publish a new edition of the book since we are in tough times again and it would once again be relevant (as if it had ever ceased to be).

She is still publishing it under a pseudonym. And she still relishes her freedom. And I still have her book. It is a first addition and I do wish I could get it autographed.

But I respect her freedom and anonymity too much.

Here is a link to an excellent story on "Dolly's" life today, a link to her website (where you can buy the new edition of the book) and a link to YouTube video of a documentary done when the book was first released, which also contains her interview on the Merv Griffin show (in Part 3).