It has been a year since I picked up a piece of post-apocalyptic fiction to read. It is not that I dislike the genre, but rather that most of what I was reading from the new crop of titles was a retelling of the same old story. There were stories of collapse and how the lead characters prevailed during times of duress and chaos. There were macho heroes and each book told a compelling story with lessons to be learned and strategies to think about along the way.
Still, in spite of all of that, I stopped reading because the lessons were old and added nothing new to my knowledge base. I was bored.
About a month ago I learned of a new title that was set to be released on Patriots Day in the United States. Upon reading the summary, I decided it was time to get back in the game. I liked the premise: a young, single mom, taking incremental steps to learn to defend herself and to prepare for life in a society full of entitlements and governments bought and sold by controlling politicians with corporations in their back pockets.
With that introduction, I would like to introduce you to The Divide from a new author, Shelby Gallagher.
The Divide (A Great State Book)
The Divide is the story of a thirty-something woman who suffered a brutal physical attack during her younger years. Afterward, she vowed never to be defenseless again. With encouragement from her father, she took a course in self-defense for women, learned to become proficient at firearms, and slower yet methodically set food and supplies aside for a rainy day. At the time, she had no concept of becoming a prepper but over time, she did just that.
The story is how she and her son quietly and covertly opened their eyes to the potential of a coming collapse (most likely when the government handouts stopped) and did everything they could to be ready. They did this with little money by using tactics such as extreme couponing and faithful budgeting.
I do not want to be a spoiler and instead will just say that this is a quick and engaging read with Julie, our lead character, learning the rules of preparedness just like we do, one baby step at a time.
An Interview with the Author
In my opinion, no book review is complete without having a short conversation with the author. I am absolutely thrilled that Karen Skoog, a long-term follower, and consummate prepper, has agreed to become my guest interviewer.
Here are the questions posed by Karen along with Shelby’s answers.
1. What is your impression of whether there has been an increase or decrease in preparedness over the past 2-3 years?
Definite decrease, sadly. My impression is that people who were frantically prepping because of the Obama administration are relaxing because Trump is in office. I would contend that simply bought us a slight reprieve. I don’t think we need to be frantically prepping out of fear. I do think we need to always be doing it no matter what. The moment we say we’re relaxing because of an elected official–we are immediately in the mindset of putting our safety and well being into the hands of someone else.
Gaye’s note: My sentiments exactly
2. What do you think are the 3 most important items for sheltering in place?
By no means am I an expert on this but here goes:
1) Securing your shelter from any threat—natural or man-made. That can only be answered by knowing why one is sheltering to begin with.
2) Supplies in your shelter. Food, fuel, medical supplies, etc. for at least a week.
3) Communications. Ability to communicate outside of your shelter; possibly in a compromised way. If phone lines and power lines are down, do you have a way to communicate with others? Dear millennials, this is my way of saying that Snapchat will be down and no whining.
3. And the 3 most important items for bugging out with the intent to avoid all authorities and government evacuation sites?
Communications. With today’s technology, as soon as you fire up a device, you’re detectable. Need to find a way to communicate other than devices. You need to be able to communicate with the prearranged community you have already made these arrangements with.
Heat source (fire makes you detectable), food, shelter, water supply and a predestined bug out location.
Unless you plan to stay in a “bugging out” state for a long period, having a bug out location predetermined is essential. This location does need to be clandestine and off the grid. To be completely undetectable means being completely off the grid. Off local power, water, fuel, etc.
Everyone in the community needs to understand the consequences of being detected. Sadly, it’s very difficult to do.
4. Could you please put the following five extreme disasters by order of likelihood based on your research?
3. EMP
1 .US Economic crash
2. Foreign attack on US soil including Islamic attack from within the US
4. Widespread natural disaster-too big to evacuate
5. Epidemic or pandemicI believe all of these are very possible. Just because something is a 4 or 5 doesn’t mean I think it’s a fairy tale. I think it’s just slightly less likely.
Shelby
Book Giveaway
Shelby and Prepper Press have set aside one copy of The Divide (A Great State Book) as a giveaway. Entering is a cinch and will only take a minute. The prize is a print copy of The Divide for US residents and a Kindle version for International members of the Strategic Living community. The giveaway will run for one week and the winner will be selected at random. The prize must be claimed in 48 hours or an alternate will be selected. Good luck!
Summing It All Up
There is a lot of chatter these days about irresponsible young people including those that are part of the millennial generation. Although I am personally an aging baby boomer, I know for a fact that not all millennials are live for the moment types who refuse to read, learn, and adapt to the world around them. In the divide, Julie proves that responsibility, or irresponsibility for that matter, knows no age boundary.
This is a book for young and old and is an especially good reminder that the little things we do to prepare for the unexpected really do matter.
If you are interested in purchasing the book, here is a link: The Divide (A Great State Book).
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I, too, became a little bored with the genre. It would be exciting to read something with a strong female lead character. I prepare by leading a frugal life (on social security & raising grandkids). I always watch sales at the grocery store & try to stock up. I save all my change. I garden & make quilts for barter.
We live a goodly distance from the nearest grocery store so we have at least a couple of weeks supply of food all the time. That having been said, it is hard to find a prepping / disaster book that isn’t the same old same old. Hopefully this one will be better.
I think this is the most likely scenario, precipitated by a foreign action somewhere in the world.
There are so many single women and moms out there that we would be well to letvourterndaugjters and granddaughters read this… if we can get them off their iPads.
I can’t wait to read this.
I have been prepping for over 60 years. I’m old and tired. If I dont have enough set aside now, I probably wont every. I live 11 miles outside a town of 25,000 and 35 miles outside a city of 100,000. I have 10 acres with a small pond. I have a greenhouse with subterranean heating. I have apple trees. I ate all my piggies, sold all my goats, all my rabbits are free range (that means they have gotten out and I cant catch them), but I still have a dozen chickens. I do NOT live in a gun free zone.
Glad to see this review. Shelby isn’t a new author, or new to ‘prepper fiction’, but this is the start of a new series from her.
We try to live within our means. Learn to fix things on our own and repurpose.
I’m a woman, and have to do all the prepping for my family: husband, grown sons, grandkids & dog. I’ve even bought most of the guns & ammo, but the guys don’t even help this crippled granny garden unless I insist. Looking forward to another female protagonist!
Good for you Moxy.
I have a bug out bag ready, food & water stored, along with cooking off grid, medical, sanitary, etc., items. “The Divide” book sounds very good!
Seems like a great book to read. Nice to see one written from a different point of view.
I am doing what I can on a limited budget (on my own). DH thinks I’m nuts but I believe we are in for a rough time.So I “prep” for the family. Both sons help when they can due to things in their lives.
This book sounds quite interesting….I’ve really missed seeing your book recommendations and I’m looking forward to this one. Anything to spur thoughtful action is a good thing! Thank you, Gaye!
I have always prepped because I come from an old New England family that was self sufficient, having grown up in the depression. We put by, used up and made due.
Hi Gaye This sounds like a really interesting book. Thanks.
Floyd
We are decluttering to make room for more preps.
I try to live a strategic life with gratitude for what I have, prayer, thoughtfulness for what is most important now, and prepping for what we will need in the future. And the occasional margarita while sitting on the porch.
Keeping my eyes and ears open at all times. Staying on top of world events and weather events. Gardening, networking and seeking God’s direction.
If I don’t win I will be using the link to order the book. I haven’t read an “apocalypse” style book in a while because they seemed to be pretty much all alike. This book looks different and that has peaked my interest.
Thanks for the link and the opportunity to win a copy.
I am one of the lucky ones, as DH has willingly gotten on board with being prepared, and sees the world in a similar fashion. As to ‘strategic living’, we are working on decreasing debt, building stores as we are able (no, we didn’t slow down because of Trump, but d/t job changes that lead to decreased income).
And for those tired of the genre, might I suggest Young Adult fiction? There are some refreshing perspectives in that genre! The Stranded Series by Theresa Shaver was good, there are a couple more that I read from the library or have on my kindle that I can’t recall off the top of my head.
All that I can…
I have noticed we(as a family) have slowed down with new preps. However have turned our attention on fine tuning what we have. Basically we have changed our thought process from “ little bit of this and that” to increase our basics of need to fine tuning if you will. We try to challenge ourselves by letting some preps dwindle and seek alternatives that we have on hand. Some things are “eye opening” others we find gives us a choice to use if we no longer have that particular object. Substitutions for this or that increases our comfort zone.
I hope you pick me because I’d like to read this book! I try to prep. Being older prevents me from doing some things.
“What do you do to live a Strategic Life?” – entry question
Hmm, I’d say my family’s focus is on eliminating debt, putting things by for a rainy day, and trying to learn new skills based on our passions and strengths. We have a sit down on the financials each payday, after I’ve gone through all the bills and all the sales options for groceries, and put a chunk toward the principal on our only debt, the car note. Our strategic life is literally that – we plan almost everything in advance and discuss the various things that should/could happen when we take certain avenues, whether with his career or with our money. The other part comes in from knowing that our plans have to be flexible and we’ll probably have to strategize more – so we take it as it comes too.
Regarding the book:
I just finished this on Kindle and really enjoyed it! I absolutely loved how much Julie’s couponing and budget stretching was discussed; hopefully readers who want to know where to find the money to become better prepared will learn just what they’re looking for. Ash sounds adorable and I hope she gets her own book, or at least pops up again in the series. Joel is just a smidge older than my youngest child and only son, so I could really relate. Lastly, having been a single mom in the past, I felt like Julie and I would get along well. Liked this alot and would love to have a print copy, especially so my own “Joel” could read it. He’s read Alas, Babylon and is working his way through the Patriots series now; I’m sure he’d love this book too.
I reuse everything I can, have learned to sew, crochet, and even spin yarn (still a beginner at spinning but getting there), do home canning and cook from scratch including bread (especially bread!), got a Berkey water filter & hand-crank grain mill, still struggling with gardening but I keep trying, use home remedies whenever possible, buy ammo whenever possible wth my budget, and most importantly, never stop learning all I can!
I try to stay informed of current events – worldwide, not just US. I also have enough on hand that I don’t have to run to the store for last minute emergencies.
Finding a safe bugout location is my biggest concern. Living within 2 hours of 4 very large cities doesn’t leave a lot of options. Looking forward to reading this book! Thanks for the giveaway.
I have learned to make 10 gallons of laundry detergent at a time, 2 gallons of shampoo, and most of Gaye’s other recipes. I do it not only to be frugal but I make batches at a time and store them away. Soon I expect to make the last payment on my freeze dryer. My son is an executive chef so he and I will be storing a lot of food over the summer months. I have collected and thoroughly cleaned about 200 empty smooth hard plastic 64oz bottles and have put them away until I feel it’s time to fill them up. I keep collecting little cheap things like old fashioned diaper pins, cheese cloth, lighters, a firestarter, a Crown Berkey water filter, (well, not so cheap but worth every penny) a case of toilet paper, etc. You get the drift. I’m also tired of the commando type of hero which I’m not so it would be quite interesting to see what a woman does to survive.
I try to keep things on hand for emergencies & stay informed about things.
I research and procure materiel for family.
When I first saw this question, I thought we weren’t doing a lot; but then I took stock and think we’re doing okay: we garden and dehydrate produce and herbs; we’ve decluttered and donated “stuff” to a veteran’s thrift store which allows us more room for preps and also benefits veterans; our daughter has made reusable paper towels and reusable toilet paper (family cloth); we’re doing more DIY projects and re-using whenever we can. And, we’ve even started to do “end of life” preparations to make things easier for those left behind when the time comes.
We have been out of debt for about 12 years. We seldom eat out except for lunch at the senior center. We are trying to get more healthy. In the last 6 months we have each lost 30 pounds and exercise at the senior center (Free) at least once and sometimes twice a day 5 days a week. We are now much stronger and more energetic. I am working on a vegetable garden. My husband is setting up and practicing an emergency ham radio and antenna system.
I try to live as frugally as possible and keep backups for potential job loss or natural disasters.
The part of getting out of debt is a rough one. Still working on that one.
I feel like I’m a little too scattered with what I’m doing sometimes. I get to a point with one thing then most likely due to money I put that aside until there’s more money to finish it and move to something else for a while. I can’t say that I feel like any one thing is finished except for the water filter but even there I need to buy some xtra filters. Believe it or not I get good ideas from a lot of these posts. Sometimes they just calm me down.
There is no one in my neighborhood that preps for anything but I’ve heard them make fun of “prepping hoarders”. I don’t even mention anything that I do to them. Believe me if they knew what I was doing mine would be the first place they would come looking for what they don’t have and need. Kind of scary.
I think relaxing with a book for a bit would be a good thing .
I try to keep things in balance. I am fortunate that I am finally getting my house paid off and I have recently picked up a Versa outdoor stove to supplement my charcoal bbq , which I think will be fun to play with this summer. For years I have mourned that my yard resists growing a nice lawn, however, looking at it from a *glass is half-full* perspective, I have a yard full of dandelion greens!
I think a positive attitude is one of the most important elements of a strategic life. Being practical is important– it helps us feel more secure that we can rise to meet any additional challenges which life might throw at us and we also want to enjoy our lives and family and friends while we have them.
Gaye, I would like to say this. A few years ago, I bought one of these add on ‘bidet’. I love it. I no longer need all this toilet paper. For bad times, I have a 12 volt water pump that goes in a camper. About $29-39. I have rain barrels that total 1470 gal. These can be gravity fed into 550 gal tanks in my basement to which the 12 volt water pump is attached. It is hooked into my existing water pipes. I have 105 watts of solar panels to keep my batteries charged. As long as I have rain, to fill my barrels, sun to charge my batteries, I will have my bidet to clean my butt. If anyone wants to hook up a simple outfit like mine, take my advice and get a bidet that has a water temp valve. Cold water on you toosh is not a good thing.
I try to think about living within our means, saving up for a rainy day. I try not to get bogged down in overthinking it. Gardening, chickens and saving for the unexpected.
I try to live my life with our proximity to the US in mind, I think people will always be our biggest threat.
We have bug out and emergency supplies stashed in all cars and workplaces. We continue to add to our food storage a little every month . We also have a stockpile of medical supplies including our prescription medications. I carry multiple non-firearm weapons in my purse at all times but have also added one firearm to the house. We have enough water carefully stored to last about 30 days, but we’re always looking for additional options including various filter drinking straws, etc. Lots of methods implemented to protect house from looters with other supplies/tools at the ready. I feel much better prepared than 2 years ago but still continue to learn and expand my skill set.
And as for those of us who did not vote to put Trump in the White House, I for one can say that I am prepping more actively that ever before. In the end, though, it doesn’t matter who is in “power”… anything can change in a heartbeat.
I’m fairly new to prepping. I have a long way to go. My first step is reading and gaining knowledge. Second step is making sure my family has food, water, and shelter in order to bug in. We are planning on buying land soon so we have a bug out location.
This book sounds like a really interesting read! Prepping to me is a life style choice. Not saying I don’t have fun and do other things, but I choose to spend more of my time and money on things to be better prepared. So instead of what I consider frivolous spending on say, hair, nails, clothing,etc. I buy supplies, learn about herbal remedies,take online courses to learn how to do things myself.
To live a strategic life has looked different for me at different times of my life. Right now I am really working on being mindful. I try to be aware whatevet Im foung, even at home.
I would love to win this sounds like I great piece of fiction.
It will be nice to read something from a different viewpoint!
What do you do to live a Strategic Life?
We are eating better and exercising more. We are grateful to live close to our adult kids. We are plugging in to our new “home town”. We are learning how to garden in a new zone.
Looking forward to reading this book, sound very interesting. Always looking for new/better ways to be prepared for what ever the future brings.
I work in EMS, helping others every day, and train others so that they can be ready if disaster strikes.