A review by mindfullibrarian
Homesick: Why I Live in a Shed by Catrina Davies

5.0

I purchased this book years ago when it was just available from UK sellers, and when I was reading [b:Heat Wave|202875|Heat Wave|Penelope Lively|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1430195826l/202875._SX50_.jpg|571427], I was all of a sudden reminded that this book was sitting on my shelf. Are the two books similar? No, not really at all, except for the fact that they are both set in Britain and involve houses. They ended up being a perfect pairing to read back-to-back, because as Heat Wave has a well-to-do editor and her family living on a rural property for the summer as their second home, Davies is not able to afford housing and is living illegally in a shed her father still owns years after it was last used. This stark disparity is what Davies highlights in her memoir, and I was struck over and over again by passages that resonated with me regarding housing inequality, the futility of working just to barely scrape by, and her connection with nature. The connections throughout the book to [b:Walden|16902|Walden|Henry David Thoreau|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1630470982l/16902._SY75_.jpg|2361393] were excellent, and highlight just how much society stays the same despite so many technological changes. I adored this book and immediately handed it to my almost-adult daughter and insisted that she MUST read it immediately. It has earned a place on my forever shelf.

Source: purchased paperback