Chapter One ~ Why Simplicity? This introductory chapter addresses the question of why less can be more. In this chapter, the author discusses the relationship between wealth, status, and power and obtaining inner peace and fulfillment. Also discussed in this chapter are various myths of simple living, including:

• The myth that simple living is all about a life of ease and leisure;
  
• The myth that simple living requires one to move to the country or to live a certain, prescribed way;
  
• The myth that simple living means depriving yourself of things you really want; and
  
• The myth that simple living is a movement of well-heeled yuppie professionals who decide to downsize and live off their savings.

Chapter Two ~ My Story: True Confessions of Yuppie Lawyer. This chapter reveals the author's personal journey of simple living. She shares her experiences of leaving behind a profession that once defined her sense of who she was, followed by the restructuring of her life to realize a more authentic and satisfying lifestyle. False starts, roller coaster highs and lows, and periods of doubt and fear are explored (both in personal and general terms) as part of a simplicity journey that often takes years, not weeks or even months. The author's experiences over a ten-year period provide many lessons for the seeker of simplicity. The author presents the key elements of a program that is designed to take the reader from the mental stage of wanting to simplify to the action stage of taking steps to do just that.

Chapter Three ~ Turning Points: What Motivates Us to Start the Journey? This chapter explores the events and influences that motivate people to simplify their lives. Certain themes appear time and again--a major illness with a long recovery providing a person with time to reflect about the meaning of his life, losing a job, a divorce or separation from a spouse, feeling swallowed by personal debt, and the common, mid-life transitional experiences of questioning the meaning and purpose of one's life. Also discussed are books and people who have inspired the simplicity study participants. Some of the people featured in this chapter include:

• A single man who, in the space of a few years, was divorced from his wife, was laid off from his job and who experienced a severe back injury, giving him the opportunity to spend many hours contemplating what to do with the rest of his life. He now lives in a small apartment on less than $10,000 per year. His work includes publishing a newsletter in an area for which he has a passionate interest.
  
• A single woman who, while recovering from cancer surgery, decided she wanted to stop worrying about money and start doing something that was personally meaningful. She quit her flashy corporate public relations job, sold her large home and bought a tiny condo, and now works for a non-profit organization at a greatly reduced income.

Chapter Four ~ A Parent's Choice: Savoring Life With Our Children. This chapter explores the stories of parents who have made fundamental life changes primarily to improve their family relationships and the quality of their children's lives. Included in this chapter are the stories of parents who have changed jobs, moved from larger to smaller homes, or from more expensive to less expensive areas, resulting in reduced living expenses and more time to spend as a family. It is clear from these stories that simple living is not the same thing as easy living, but for the profiled families, the tradeoffs they have made are definitely worthwhile. Some of the families profiled in this chapter include:

• A very successful salesman who worked 12-hour days, bought a new home with a pool for his family, and then realized his priorities were out of whack. He quit his job, moved to a less expensive home, and now has time to be a husband and a father to his three children.
  
• A young couple who work in the academic world, he as a professor and she as a graduate student, and have chosen to each work part-time to have quality time and energy to spend with their daughter. They realize they are limiting their opportunities for professional advancement, but the tradeoff is worth it.
  
• A woman who quit an exhausting job after figuring out her true hourly wage was only 1/3 of what it looked like on paper. She now drives a school bus and can take her children with her. This family also realized their dream of moving to the country much sooner than they had originally hoped for.

Chapter Five ~ Urban or Rural Simplicity: Choosing a Nurturing Milieu. This chapter debunks the myth that simple living necessarily involves moving to the country and growing one's own food, or that living in the country is simpler than life in the city. While country living is a very desirable lifestyle for some people, others prefer the ease of city life. Featured in this chapter are stories of people who feel strongly about living either in the city or the country, including:

• A couple who moved from a three bedroom townhouse in the suburbs to a 450 square foot studio apartment in the city, walking everywhere, enjoying close access to the library and other city benefits, and loving the freedom of having very little clutter in their home.
  
• A single mother of two children who gave up her at-home business and a rural home to move to a small town and work in a traditional secretarial job for 30 hours a week, providing her with a stable salary and health benefits for her family.
  
• A couple with two children who, after an earlier failed attempt at homesteading, have built a successful homesteading lifestyle, earning a living through a number of activities, including a maple syrup business, work as a chaplain, nursing, counseling services and secretarial work.
  
• A couple who left city life and their computer programming jobs first for an adventurous year on a small farm in Italy and then to settle down on a self-sustaining farm in the states where work and leisure have merged.

Chapter Six ~ Work We Can Live With: A Balancing Act. This chapter features stories of people whose primary connection with living simply is the freedom to work in ways that are meaningful to them. Among those featured are several people who left high pressure jobs for less stressful environments and the opportunity to develop a rich personal life, including:

• A married father of two who loves the freedom and control he enjoys in his entrepreneurial cleaning and restoration business, leaving time and energy for he and his wife to engage in their life long passion for history, languages and other intellectual pursuits.
  
• A single woman in her 40's who quit a successful position as a computer analyst and now works as a live-in nanny, a job that allows her to develop her spiritual life and artistic interests.
  
• A couple who continue to work at the investment firm they have worked at for 12 years, but who voluntarily took themselves off the fast track, and now view their jobs as flexible work opportunities providing them good value. Their changes were all on the inside.
  
• A woman doctor who quit her highly visible, stressful medical practice, moved to a less expensive area of the country with her husband, and now works 20 hours a week in a job share with another woman physician.

Chapter Seven ~ On the Road to Simplicity: Travelers in Transition. This chapter tells the stories of people who are clearly in transition, often just starting out on the path to simple living. We hear about about the struggles, doubts and fears of those who feel unsure of themselves, but who want to carry on. In this chapter we learn that living simply is not a destination, but a process, a journey. Some of the people included in this chapter are:

• A married man with two children who just quit his job of 18 years to be a stay-at-home dad. His wife earns a high salary, but this family has always spent just a little more than they earned. At some point, they realized that they could actually live on less with one income by eliminating day care expenses, restaurant meals, and other expenses. Their friends and colleagues are shocked that they are doing this, and don't understand how they can pull this off.
  
• A single woman who recently quit a secure, government job with a high salary to seek of life of greater satisfaction. However, her new job is less than fully satisfying and she will likely make another change in that area of her life. She has also concluded that the location of the smaller home she bought lacks the stimulation and like-minded people she would like to spend time with. She is in the process of moving to yet another home.

For a descriptive summary of Chapters 8 through 14, click here.