Customer Reviews

We Took to the Woods

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We Took To the Woods was originally published in 1942. In it author Louise Dickinson Rich describes in fascinating detail her life in the rugged backwoods of North-West Maine with her husband, young son, and their husky dogs. It's a wonderful book for independent, self-sufficient, outdoorsy types.

In the book, Louise attempted to answer the questions she most regularly heard from people about their backwoods existence, questions like "How do you make a living," and "What do you do with all your spare time?" She answers these questions honestly and in great detail, and adds in a healthy dose of amusing anecdote. Her writing style is warm, simple, and straightforward, and filled with tongue-in-cheek humour.

Louise and her husband, Ralph, lived a highly creative, flexible, self-sufficient lifestyle. They grew a vegetable garden, gathered food like blueberries from the wilderness, and made their living doing a wide variety of odd jobs, including writing.

The chapters of this book are filled with stories of this family's interesting adventures, sometimes with animals, sometimes with the weather, and sometimes with other people. Louise sometimes goes off on pretty long tangents when she starts telling stories, and it's all good reading.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I love learning the stories of people living on the fringe of civilization, who are making their own way outside of society's conventions. Some of the most memorable parts of the book for me included Louise's stories of giving birth to her son, Rufus, in their cabin without a doctor; the time she cooked lunch for the nearby lumber camp, with her young son tied to a tree where she could see him; and the time she visited a friend on the Outside. It was the first time she had left the woods for four years, and she had to go digging through her closet to find some reasonably suitable clothes, because all she ever wore was pants, and this was in the 30s when women still usually only wore skirts .

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in an independent lifestyle, or just anyone who dreams of "getting away from it all" to go live in the woods. Definitely a worthwhile read.

Louise Dickinson Rich is a star! A truly wonderful and gifted writer. You can't put her books down.

This book is one of the most enjoyable to read you will ever find. It is written in such a clear, humorous and timeless style that you would swear it was written yesterday instead of in 1942. Each chapter answers a question that would arise upon hearing that one had decided to live in the deep woods of Maine---how you do school your children? How do you keep in touch with society? How do you keep house? There are pictures and the kind of nitty gritty details we all like to read! In addition to just being great to read, I think this book is a very important one. I would say it had a part in starting at least two trends. One is the back to the land movement. At the time it was written, you just simply didn't decide to get away from it all and live in the woods! I think this book, which was extremely popular when it came out, put some unique ideas in a lot of heads and may have had a big part in giving people ideas about alternative ways of living. Also, I think it's one of the first autobiograpical books of its type---written plainly but with humor about a unique way of living. I think this book, which in my knowledge has never been out of print, is really one of the key non-fiction works of the 20th century. But don't read it for that, read it because it's fun to read and you will love it!

Like many others, I was lucky enough to discover "We Took to the Woods" in a used book store. From the first page, Mrs. Rich's description of her family's withdrawl from urban life to the peace of the Maine woods transports the reader to another time and place. The long winters spent by the fire with favorite books, the eager anticipation of the monthly mail delivery, the excitement over the first thaw and the opportunity to replenish the barest of larders...her descriptions of everything from her summer and winter homes to the garden and surrounding woods bring you into her world. And is there anyone who after a long day at work and longer trip home doesn't want to turn off the lights and see only stars and treetops overhead? The best bedtime reading, guarantees many nights of sweet dreams.

Rich, a very resourceful woman, raises her family in rural Maine in the 1930s. The descriptions of the river, the woods, and especially the people are vivid and realistic. I visited the area a few years after reading the book; the area has not changed much.

I FOUND THIS BOOK AT A USED BOOK FAIR. IT IS A 1942 PRINTING. A TRULY WONDERFUL LOOK AT LEAVING IT ALL BEHIND AND " TAKING TO THE WOODS " IN THE 1930'S, AND A TREAT FOR ALL OF US WHO WOULD LIKE TO GO BACK IN TIME NOW AND THEN.I WILL SEEK OUT HER OTHER WORKS, MOST CERTAINLY. WORTHY OF YOUR TIME.

I bought this book at a used book fair about ten years ago. I recently, on a whim, took it camping with me. A perfect book to read in the woods. I enjoyed Ms Rich's style, her vivid discription of survival in the Maine wilderness, the recipe for baked beans, etc. I will definitely read her other work