The Not So Big Life by Sarah Susanka

The Not So Big Life is, in a nutshell, a guide to creating a more satisfying life and then learning how to inhabit and maintain this new way of living. Just as Thoreau recognized over 150 years ago, Susanka understands that many people today “lead lives of quiet desperation.” Susanka hopes to guide readers out of desperation to a life of authenticity, of less haste, and of fewer unwanted obligations.

Several years ago, architect Susanka wrote a book called The Not So Big House. In that book, she helped people understand how to design interior spaces to make a house a home, wherein comfort and usable space are priorities, not square footage. The Not So Big Life extends these concepts to designing a new kind of life, one that is more satisfying, more personal, and less obsessed with wealth accumulation, materials goods, and to do lists.

The Not So Big Life starts with a section called “Blueprint for a New Way of Living.” In this first chapter Susanka outlines the components of a smaller life and suggests that readers keep a “Not So Big Notebook,” for the exercises at the end of each chapter. The next eleven chapters delve deeper into the different components of a Not So Big Life, including: noticing what inspires you; learning what is not working in your life; removing clutter (read: unwanted obligations); listening to your dreams; overcoming obstacles to an authentic life; improving the quality of the things you have (especially time); beginning to make the necessary changes to implement your new life; and starting and maintaining your new life. Each chapter ends with helpful exercises, and the book’s final section is an appendix called “Owner’s Manual for Your Not So Big Life, Step by Step.”

With Susanka’s guidance, many readers will feel ready to start leading a Not So Big Life, wherein prosperity is measured not in wealth and materials goods, but in how much room one makes in their lives for what really matters.

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