Give It Up!
My Year of Learning to Live Better with Less
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
“Refreshing, inspiring, and honest….One book I’m not going to be ‘giving up’ anytime soon.”
—Nicole Williams, author of Earn What You’re Worth
Give It Up! is author Mary Carlomagno’s inspiring chronicle of her 365 days spent learning to live better with less—when she decided to give up one modern convenience (eg: elevators) or indulgence (eg: alcohol) every month for a year. A joyous celebration of voluntary simplicity, Give It Up! offers a solution and a liberating new outlook to shopaholics, jaded consumers, and spirituality seekers overwhelmed by the unnecessary clutter in their lives, in the most uplifting self-help guide to better living since Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project.
What if the secret to a richer life isn’t adding more, but giving things up?
A Year of Less: Follow Mary’s hilarious and heartfelt journey as she gives up one thing each month—from alcohol and shopping to cell phones and chocolate.Decluttering Your Life: More than just tidying up, this is a guide to clearing out the mental and material baggage that creates stress and distraction.Digital Detox: Discover what happens when the cell phone is off and the TV is dark, forcing real connection and a new awareness of the world around you.Saving Money: Learn how ditching taxis, dining out, and impulse buys can not only simplify your schedule but also add up to surprising financial gains.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Who better than a professional clutter and space control expert to write about doing with less? Serially, during the course of a year, Carlomagno gave up alcohol, newspapers, shopping, dining out, taxis, cell phones and television for one month each. Writing in an easy, anecdotal style, she describes what she gained from each sacrifice. While forsaking alcohol during January, for example, she became aware of the peer pressure to drink. Subsequently, Carlomagno ordered her favorite dirty martini only when she really desired one. In April she ceased her daily reading of the New York Times and found a new appreciation for poetry; she also joined a reading group. A July spent abstaining from TV and videos allowed time for nightly walks, listening to music and completing chores around her apartment activities that had previously been crammed into the weekend. Carlomagno's reactions to her renunciations, which overall, she feels, enriched her emotionally, make for entertaining reading, although only those who can afford such indulgences as dining out frequently will be able to enjoy the luxury of doing without them.
