The Ultimate Self-Sufficiency Handbook

by Abigail R. Gehring

This compact guide provides advice, tips, and step-by-step instructions for hundreds of projects, offering the entire family the tools they need to make the shift toward self-sufficient living. Readers will learn to dip candles, bake bread, make maple syrup, start a vineyard, and much more. With special features for young homesteaders, this is an essential family guide to self-sufficient living.

Genres: Nonfiction, Food, Gardening, Survival, How To, Cooking, Crafts

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2012

About the author

Abigail R. Gehring is a writer who divides her time between New York City and rural Vermont. She is the editor of Back to Basics, Homesteading, and Self-Sufficiency, and author of Odd Jobs: How to Have Fun and Make Money in a Bad Economy and Dangerous Jobs: The World’s Riskiest Ways to Make an Extra Buck. The Simple Joys of Grandparenting: Stories, Nursery Rhymes, Recipes, Games, Crafts, and More. The Little Book of Country Baking: Classic Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Breads, and Pies. She's practiced living self-sufficiently since her childhood in Vermont, helping build a log cabin, being home-schooled, home-canning jams and jellies, and enjoying natural crafts. She's held many of the jobs she writes about in her book, including beer promoter, “Cinderella”, lipstick reader, and hot dog vendor.

Reviews

[Latasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very thorough, and made me want to go buy a farm with land and outbuildings, the whole shebang. It did a great job of basic gardening overview, but the best part was their canning section. I haven't read a more thorough overview on how to can, and I want to check this book out from the library again when we start our harvest. Also, it covered animals, how to raise them, what they're used for, and sadly how to slaughter them. That part made me reconfirm my efforts to be a vegetarian lol. Overall useful book.

[Elwin Kline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Master of none, jack of all trades type approach to a survival/self-sufficiency handbook. Both it's strength and weakness.

If you wanted to learn a ton about gardening, this is a great start but leaves quite a few holes that would need to get filled by additional research.

Want to learn about butchering? This will give the bare bones, and leave out a lot. But, you could probably take a stab a pig, literally, and you would more than likely come out okay.

Raising animals such as rabbits, ducks, chickens, cows, goats, sheep, even llama is discussed, but you would need to focus fire on your target species if you were really serious about taking something like raising animals for meat/eggs/milk etc, than what you receive from this book.

All in all, it's a good book that covers a wide array of different topics, but not to the extent in which I would prefer.

My favorite aspects/highlights:
+ Maple Syrup section.
+ Gardening portion was given more attention that most other areas in this book, and it certainly reflects when you read.
+ I enjoyed the canning/jarring section. It is well written and even throws in a little history about Napoleon in there that I really liked.
+ Randomly.. out of no where... is coverage of boomerangs. I like it. Lol.

All in all, I would recommend this book to folks who have read a lot of the genre or have a lot of experience in these areas, and would like to get a recap of the basics. Or, someone who doesn't want to read multiple books and is looking for a touch and go type approach for a wide breadth of various survival/self-sufficiency topics.

My personal preference, I like more depth, detail, and to learn something new and why I went with a 3/5. An all-in-one approach for me is not where I am at right now with this genre.

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must say I skipped a lot of it because it was getting into the specifics of stuff I didn’t want to do on the moment (spinning wool, preserving harvests, keeping bees) but it gave me ideas of what king of hobbies I can pursue in the future to be more self-sufficient (knitting, sewing, canning). This is better used as a reference book than something to borrow at the library yet I won’t buy it. There are more thorough information out there about each of those subjects.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I skimmed much of this book, knowing that it will be a handy guide in case the WEF gets its way. Yikes!

There are some topics that seem out of place: planning a home wedding? Decorating a lampshade? But I found the canning and gardening sections very helpful!

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seems to bounce between bare-bones basics and over-abundant detail. I gave up a quick read in the canning section so the rest of the book might be more balanced.

Canning information appears to be identical to National Center for Home Food Preservation website (University of Georgia).

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a super advanced book - but good with general "how to's" of being self sufficient.
Good reference book.
I have only skim read the parts I wanted, bought it as hard cover in 2017.

[Vinod Kurup · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice reference book with lots of good information. Hope to use it someday!

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well done overall.

[Marcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative

[goldslippersandpinkheels · Rating 1 out of 5]

The idea behind this book is great. However, unless you literally know nothing about anything of these things, the book is not in depth enough to be helpful.

Also, I just cannot understand how making/ decorating a lampshade is necessary for being self-sufficient. The crafts section of the book doesn't really seem to fit. Perhaps it would be more helpful to someone else, but it's not for me.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good source of information although there are several other self-sufficiency handbooks that are more intensive. It felt that too much was included to thoroughly cover many points properly. It is worth reading through while researching your endeavor. I borrowed this book from my local library.

[Deyara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the pictures the most. Pretty animal-based, and has large section on butchering.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative. Simple breakdowns.

[Ursula · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very shallow information; not interesting, not recommended