As a part of my continued blogs about simple living, I want to tell you today about “Possum Living.” In 1978, an eighteen year old with a seventh grade education wrote a book titled “Possum Living” under the pseudonym Dolly Freed.
In “Possum Living,” Freed chronicled her life with her father in a half-acre lot outside Philadelphia. The two only spent about $1,500 a year, so they were living very frugally while still keeping up what they called “the middle class facade.” Freed appeared on “The Merv Griffin Show” to tell people how the two ate trapped pigeons, sautéed road kill, and made homemade moonshine. The book became an instant classic.
What happened to Freed after she released “Possum Living?” Oddly enough, she became a NASA aerospace engineer. She studied at the public library, aced her SATs, and paid her own way through college. However, she quit after the Challenger shuttle blew up in 1986 after launch, saying she couldn’t forgive NASA for the risks it took in sending up the Challenger. Freed said, “I could not work at a place that would let that kind of thing happen.”
Today, Freed lives in Texas, is married, the mother of two, and has returned to her roots as an environmental educator. “It’s practically what I was born to do,” Freed said.
It seems as if the idea behind “Possum Living” is as relevant today as it was when it was released more than 30 years ago. One line from the book reads, “It’s easier to learn to do without some of the things that money can buy than to earn the money to buy them.” Does that philosophy sound familiar?
If you visit Freed’s web page, you can find info about her, media coverage about her, read her blog, and even find recipes (like dandelion wine, soy snackies, and ) and tips.