Heading Home: On Starting a New Life in a Country Place

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Life in the country is a subject of endless fascination to city
dwellers. Can it be achieved without a city paycheque? Is it possible to
adjust to the quiet? What about the lack of cultural life? And are there
any jobs? Does it really cost less to live outside the city? Scanlan
took the plunge and lived to tell the tale—a tale of temperamental
wells, septic systems, neighbors who actually know your name, encounters
with wildlife, frozen water pipes, and of real enjoyment of life.

In Heading Home he lays out the essence of rural life as it is
encountered during each month of the year. Then, like a runaway vine
that cannot be confined to its allotted spot, Scanlan’s themes tumble
across the months, uniting the work and filling in the crevices with his
personal interests and beliefs. One such theme is the absolute evil of
gravel pit operations. Another is the absolute stupidity of the
city-based owners of Harrowsmith and Equinox magazines (Scanlan’s
former employers). Yet a third is the importance of community
involvement in the operation of rural schools.

These diatribes aside, the book is a very readable ramble through the
components of rural life in southeastern Ontario.

Scanlan’s writing experience shows: the tone is simultaneously
energetic and casual—an accomplishment not to be ignored. The book is
not a reference or how-to for city escapees; rather it is a taste of the
philosophical changes in store for those who would make a successful
adjustment to life in the country.