For those of you that don’t know, Samantha Biggers is the editor in chief at Backdoor Survival.  We became friendly shortly after new ownership took over and did my best to mentor her relative to the ins and outs of full-time blogging.  Since then, I have grown to respect her opinions and her lifestyle which are both pretty remarkable given that she is a millennial.  You know, a member of the younger generation that is not known for independence, belief in free speech, and the other rights us “grays” hold near and dear to our hearts.

A few months back I asked Samantha if she would be willing to subject herself to an interview and she agreed.  It has taken me a while to post this, not through any fault of Samantha, but because of the personal funk I have experienced as I watch the degradation of what I perceive as the erosion of our freedom.  You may recall I recently wrote about that in Is American Freedom Under Siege?.  A must-read if I do say so myself.

More to the point, you should care about Samantha Biggers because she represents forward-thinking while at the same time embracing a traditional lifestyle of homesteading and preparedness.  While I do not always agree with her, she represents our future and that gives me optimism.

It is once again time to grab a copy of The Prepper’s Guide to Food Storage for free. The dates are Oct 31 to Nov 4. 

Those of you familiar with my book will notice that I have recently changed the cover in order to reflect that the book is no longer a part of or associated with the Backdoor Survival website. You will also find that I have updated the “About the Author” section to reflect my current life situation which is retired and living in Arizona.  There are a few other small changes, but nothing major.

It is hard to believe that The Prepper’s Guide to Food Storage was first published in December 2013. 

Although not a lot has changed relative to food storage methods and techniques, there are some pieces missing in the book, such as dealing with food storage when there are special health or diet concerns.  In addition, moving from Washington State to Arizona has greatly influenced my thoughts relative to the stability of canned and packaged goods when maintaining a steady 70 degree or less environment is either cost-prohibitive or impossible.   I will be addressing those issues in upcoming articles here on Strategic Living.

Today I am pleased to announce the launch of the Strategic Living Book Festival.  This is something I have done in the past as a way to introduce you to the best new books in the prepping, homestead, and survival niches.  Going forward, I also plan to share books about life, hobbies, and just about anything else that will contribute to your overall well being.  As I have done before, with each book I will include a brief book review, an author interview, and a book giveaway.

It only seems appropriate that I start things off with one of the most credible and prolific preparedness authors I know, Daisy Luther.  Her new book, “Be Ready For Anything”, is a one-stop shop for all things preparedness.  I do not say this lightly because even with all of the great preparedness books out there, you would be well served with just this one.

Here is a brief introduction to the book itself, an interview with Daisy, and of course, details of the book giveaway.

It happens to all of us.  On a Sunday afternoon when the doctor’s office is closed, we slice our finger in the kitchen or our ankle or some other body part while working or playing in the great outdoors.   We are able to stop the bleeding but after that?  Ouch.  It looks like stitches might be needed.  Talk about bad timing.

In this review, learn about ZipStitch, a device that can be used to securely close minor cuts, wounds, and lacerations without the use of invasive sutures.  Perfect for first aid kits and bug-out bags.

Not only that, I have two ZipStitch kits available in a giveaway to two lucky readers.

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. Plus, in my usual style, I have a giveaway to win a copy of Shelby’s book for free.