All Our Friends

Book excerpt: All Our Friends: Simple Rewards of Simple Living begins with a couple's choice to quit their jobs and take up a life of voluntary simplicity. When they buy a rustic property on Mayne Island, one of British Columbia's Southern Gulf Islands, they soon find themselves sharing their yard with an extended family of raccoons. While exploring the adjustments the couple must make to the limitations of living in a travel trailer and on a fixed income, All Our Friends follows their relationship with the raccoons as they move from the background into the foreground of the couple's lives. First Bandit appears by making a comical assault on the bird feeder. Shortly after his lady friends, Foxy, Raggedy Ann and Putzi, make themselves at home. When Raggedy and Putzi bring their kits in the summer, the yard turns into a 'garden stage'. By letting the reader in on the challenges and rewards of simple living in an island setting, of which close contact with wildlife is the ultimate reward, All Our Friends is an experience few are ever lucky to have. Reviews "All Our Friends is a slim volume that is well-written ... and goes very quickly for the reader. As the author states, it is not a recipe but an example of a modest lifestyle, and one that will be interesting to many in these times of growing eco-awareness." Gulf Islands Driftwood "Faithfully but not sentimentally recounted, the exploits of this merry band [of raccoons] will make you more friend than foe of these creatures. It will also make you yearn for the simple life, at least from your comfy, warm reading spot." Island Tides Video readings D.S. Hartley's readings of condensed versions of two chapters can be seen on You Tube. Chapter 1 The Faery Garden Chapter 5: Close Encounters Author's Website For more contents, reviews, and photo gallery, visit: www.dshartley.com