Possum Living

I approached *Possum Living* expecting another earnest ode to homesteading, but Dolly Freed’s memoir is a masterclass in biting pragmatism. Her narration—folksy, unfiltered, and dripping with sass—makes it feel like she’s leaning over the fence to gossip about her own past. The audiobook’s dual narration works surprisingly well; Paige Williams grounds the proceedings with a measured, almost documentary-like tone when Freed’s humor threatens to veer into chaos. That said, the production stumbles when Williams takes on Freed’s more conversational moments, occasionally flattening the wit into monotone. Still, the audiobook’s greatest strength is its refusal to sugarcoat survival. Freed’s tips—like using a toaster oven to bake bread or turning roadkill into a meal—are gold, but it’s her unapologetic voice that lingers. She doesn’t romanticize poverty or the back-to-the-land movement; instead, she treats it like a hilarious, slightly unhinged experiment. The pacing drags in a few spots where Freed gets lost in tangents about her brother’s odd habits, but those moments only underscore her authenticity. If you want a survival guide that’s as funny as it is informative, this is the audiobook for you. Just don’t expect to feel warm and fuzzy about living off the land—Freed will make sure of that.