Helen Nearing

Helen_Nearing

Helen Nearing (February 23, 1904 – September 17, 1995) was an American author and advocate of simple living. She is best known for her work on sustainable living and her collaboration with her husband, Scott Nearing, with whom she co-authored several books on the subject.

Early Life

Helen Knothe was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey. She grew up in a family that valued education and intellectual pursuits. Her early exposure to progressive ideas influenced her later work in sustainable living and social justice.

Marriage to Scott Nearing

Helen met Scott Nearing in the early 1930s. Scott was an economist and social activist known for his radical views. The couple married in 1947 and moved to a farm in Vermont where they began to practice and promote a lifestyle of self-sufficiency and simple living.

Simple Living and Homesteading

In Vermont, the Nearings built their own stone house and cultivated their land using organic farming methods. They aimed to live independently from the industrial economy, growing their own food and generating their own energy. Their lifestyle was documented in their book, Living the Good Life, which became a seminal work in the back-to-the-land movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

Writing and Advocacy

Helen and Scott co-authored several books, including The Good Life and Continuing the Good Life. These works provided practical advice on homesteading, organic farming, and sustainable living. Helen also wrote Loving and Leaving the Good Life, a memoir reflecting on her life with Scott and their shared philosophy.

Later Years and Legacy

After Scott's death in 1983, Helen continued to live on their farm in Maine and remained active in promoting simple living. She passed away in 1995 at the age of 91. Helen Nearing's work has had a lasting impact on the environmental and sustainable living movements.

Related Pages

• Scott Nearing
• Living the Good Life
• Simple living
• Homesteading
• Organic farming