Helen Knothe Nearing (February 23, 1904 – September 17, 1995) was an American author, advocate of
simple living
Simple living refers to practices that promote simplicity in one's lifestyle. Common practices of simple living include reducing the number of possessions one owns, depending less on technology and services, and spending less money. Not only is ...
and a lifelong
vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetariani ...
.
Biography
Helen Knothe was born on February 23, 1904, in
Ridgewood, New Jersey
Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 24,958, She grew up in an economically comfortable family of
Theosophist
Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion ...
sKrishnamurti: The Years of Awakening by Mary Lutyens, London: John Murray, 1975. and was a lifelong vegetarian. She graduated from Ridgewood High School and studied the violin internationally. As a young woman, she had a romantic relationship with
Jiddu Krishnamurti
Jiddu Krishnamurti (; 11 May 1895 – 17 February 1986) was a philosopher, speaker and writer. In his early life, he was groomed to be the new World Teacher, an advanced spiritual position in the theosophical tradition, but later rejected th ...
.
She and
Scott Nearing
Scott Nearing (August 6, 1883 – August 24, 1983) was an American radical economist, educator, writer, political activist, pacifist, vegetarian and advocate of simple living.
Biography
Early years
Nearing was born in Morris Run, Tioga Coun ...
started a relationship in 1928 and married nearly 20 years later, on December 12, 1947, when she was 43 and he was 64.Margaret Killinger ''The Good Life of Helen K. Nearing'', 2007. In 1934, the couple left New York City for Winhall in rural
Vermont
Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
, where they had purchased a rather large forest tract for $2200 and a moderate-sized farm for $2500. They aspired to live a more “purposeful” life and improve their health while disassociating from modern society. At the homestead, they lived a largely
ascetic
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
and
self-reliant
"Self-Reliance" is an 1841 essay written by American transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. It contains the most thorough statement of one of Emerson's recurrent themes: the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false con ...
life, growing much of their own food and putting up nine stone buildings over the course of two decades. Cash was earned from producing maple syrup and maple sugar from the trees on their land and from Scott Nearing's occasional paid lectures. However, in her book ''Meanwhile, Next Door to the Good Life'', Jean Hay Bright documents that the Nearings were both subsidized by substantial inheritances which supported their forest farm. In 1934, around the time they purchased the Vermont property, Helen inherited between $30,000–$40,000 from former
suitor
Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marriage. A courtship may be an informal and private ...
J. J. van der Leeuw (). Scott received an inheritance from his father that was said to be "at least a million dollars" in 1940 according to Nearing's son Robert. Hay Bright's calculations make clear that while very hard working homesteaders, the Nearings never came close to supporting themselves on their "
cash crop
A cash crop or profit crop is an agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate marketed crops from staple crop (or "subsistence crop") in subsist ...
s" as they state.
Organic farming
Helen and Scott Nearing left the Vermont homestead in 1952 after the area saw an increase in ski tourism, moving to a homestead in
Brooksville, Maine
Brooksville is a town on Penobscot Bay in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 935. It contains the villages of North Brooksville, South Brooksville (on Buck's Harbor), West Brooksville, Brooksvil ...
, on Cape Rosier, where they continued growing much of their own food using
organic farming
Organic farming, also known as ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and re ...
practices. They cultivated blueberries as a cash crop. In 1954, the couple published ''Living the Good Life'' which inspired many young, educated Americans to create simpler, rural lifestyles and the
back-to-the-land movement
A back-to-the-land movement is any of various agrarian movements across different historical periods. The common thread is a call for people to take up smallholding and to grow food from the land with an emphasis on a greater degree of self-suffic ...
of the 1960s and 70s. In 1994, ''
Mother Earth News
''Mother Earth News'' is a bi-monthly American magazine that has a circulation of 500,520 . It is published in Topeka, Kansas.
Since its founding, ''Mother Earth News'' has promoted renewable energy, recycling, family farms, good agricultural ...
'' called Nearing the "mother of the back to the land movement." The magazine did first interview Nearing in 1971.
Vegetarianism
Nearing was a speaker at the World Vegetarian Congress held in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...
, in 1975 and hosted by the
International Vegetarian Union
The International Vegetarian Union (IVU) is an international non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote vegetarianism. The IVU was founded in 1908 in Dresden, Germany.
It is an umbrella organisation, which includes organisations from ...
.
In 1980, Nearing published her vegetarian cookbook ''Simple Food for the Good Life.'' In 2016, 20 years after her death, the '' Portland Press Herald'' reported: "The book, which is still in print, contains the ultra-simple recipes for which she was known (such as Simple Celery Soup, made with celery, oil, one potato, water, salt and nutmeg). It was here she famously called herself “a far-from-enthusiastic and qualified cook.”"
In the summer of 1991, Helen and Scott were inducted into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame of the
North American Vegetarian Society
The North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS) is a charity and activist organization with the stated objectives of supporting vegetarians and informing the public about the benefits of vegetarianism.
It was initially founded in 1974 to organize the ...
.
Death
Helen Nearing died in 1995 as the result of a single-car accident in
Harborside, Maine
Harborside is an unincorporated village in the town of Brooksville, Hancock County, Maine, United States. The community is located on the coast of Penobscot Bay, southwest of Ellsworth. Harborside had a post office
A post office is a publ ...
. ''The New York Times'' and ''NPR's Living On Earth'' ran obituaries after her death.
Legacy & Good Life Center
The Maine estate was left for
The Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...
which established the Good Life Center to continue the Nearings' legacy. The farm managers who live at the farm must eat only vegetarian food on the property. People come from across the country for the ability to have the farm manager jobs. The Thoreau Institute acquired the papers of the couple. Her life is continuing to inspire other people to have a homestead.
Published works
* ''The Good Life Picture Album'' (1974)
* ''Simple Food for the Good Life'' (1980)
* ''Wise Words for the Good Life'' (1980)
* ''Our Home Made of Stone'' (1983)
* ''Loving and Leaving the Good Life'' (1992)
* ''Light on Aging and Dying'' (1995)
Co-authored with Scott Nearing
* ''The Maple Sugar Book: being a plain practical account of the Art of Sugaring designed to promote an acquaintance with the Ancient as well as the Modern practise, together with remarks on Pioneering as a way of living in the twentieth century.'' New York: John Day Co., 1950.
* '' Living the Good Life'' (1954)
* ''Socialists Around the World'' (1958)
* ''Building and Using Our Sun-Heated Greenhouse'' (1977)
* ''Continuing the Good Life'' (1979)
* ''The Good Life'' (1989)