Hard Times in Paradise - Hardcover

Colfax, David; Colfax, Micki

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0446514896 ISBN 13: 9780446514897

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 1992

Synopsis

An account of one family's life in a redwood forest describes how the Colfax's lived without electricity, running water, or a phone, and how they educated their sons, three of whom were accepted to Harvard on full scholarships.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

It's an idea everyone has had at least once: give up the job, give up the home in the burbs, buy some land and live the good life in the country. Can it really be done? David and Micki Colfax did it. And in this fascinating book they tell how they did it--from their decision to try a life of self-sufficiency in the redwood forested mountains of northern California to the process of building their own house, from the demands of teaching their four children at home (three out of the four children went on to attend Harvard) to living without electricity, a phone, or a steady income. The Colfaxes, urban professionals whose backgrounds were in teaching and academia, moved to forty-seven steep acres of trees and hard ground in Mendocino County in 1973. They had no experience with homesteading and none of the do-it-yourself skills it would require. They learned by doing, plunging into their new life with enthusiasm, a limited amount of cash, and high hopes. By the time the first winter snows came bursting through the walls of their still uncompleted home, the Colfaxes were finding out just how challenging the good life could be. Everything took longer than they planned. The work was hard--bone-numbing hours upon hours of clearing the brush, burning stumps, hauling water, fixing the truck, and preparing food over a gas stove. The land, although breath-takingly beautiful, was harsh. In describing the setbacks, money woes, and disasters, the Colfaxes show how their new life and their Shining Moon Ranch slowly took shape: how crops began to grow, how the house was finally made weather-tight, and how their children learned to read and write at the same time that they learned to raise prizewinninglivestock. The Colfaxes have written a personal history that is as instructive as it is entertaining. Hard Times in Paradise is the story of a modern pioneer family--funny, sad, and, most of all, uplifting. As David and Micki Colfax and their four sons discovered, the ultimate meaning of being a pioneer is to rely on--and to cherish--one another.

About the Author:

Colfax is a fourth-term at-large trustee of his county's board of education, and until recently hosted a weekly public radio public affairs program. A former professor of sociology, he has served as a social research and forensic consultant.

Colfax is a graduate of Penn State who attended the London School of Economics. She has taught in the United States, Canada, and England, and has served as director of field operations for many educational survey research projects.

About this edition

• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0446514896
• ISBN 13: 9780446514897
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 284