Lifestyle Lost

Drawing upon his diverse life experiences, David Umling
carries you on an engaging odyssey as he describes the two
lifestyles he has livedhis childhood experiences growing
up on a small family hardscrabble farm in the Appalachian
Mountains and his adult professional life as a City Planner.
He recounts, in loving detail, the infl uential experiences
and traditional folkways from his upbringing (a way of
life that is rapidly disappearing) and how they shaped his
understanding of the life he lived and the outside world
into which he transitioned. Davids childhood stories teach
us of the virtues and practical benefi ts of the self-reliant,
homespun Appalachian culture and lifestyle that nurtured
him, but that he never fully realized and appreciated until
later in life. The story follows his journey into adulthood and
the struggles he faced adapting to life in modern society
and reconciling it with the core values he internalized as
a child. Through his achievements, disappointments and
personal refl ections, David compares and contrasts the
two distinct lifestyles he has lived. His insights reveal
how the lessons he learned persuaded him to pursue a
simpler and more traditional lifestyle in the mountains of
Pendleton County, West Virginia. In the process, he gives
us an enlightening perspective on our society, how we live
within it and how it ultimately defi nes us.