Possum Living: How to Live Well Without a Job and with (Almost) No Money

In 1978, at the age of eighteen and with a seventh-grade education, Dolly Freed wrote Possum Living, chronicling the five years she and her father lived off the land on a half-acre lot outside of Philadelphia.

At the time of its publication, Possum Living became an instant classic, known for its plucky narration and no-nonsense practical advice on how to quit the rat race and live frugally. In her delightful, straightforward, and irreverent style, Freed guides readers on how to buy and maintain a home, dress well, stay healthy, save money, and be lazy, proud, miserly, and honest, all while enjoying leisure and keeping up a middle-class facade. Possum Living instructs on practical matters as well, including how to

grow and can food

raise and slaughter rabbits

catch and cook fish and turtles

distill your own moonshine

Thirty years later, Freed's philosophy is world-renowned and Possum Living remains as fascinating, inspirational, and pertinent as it was upon its original publication. This edition includes new reflections, insights, and life lessons from an older and wiser Dolly Freed, whose knowledge of how to live like a possum has given her financial security and the confidence to try new ventures.