Cait Flanders

"I emerged from Adventures in Opting Out feeling courageous. In these pages, Cait Flanders does more than simply inspire us to live with more depth and authenticity. She gives us rare, practical guidance on reaching beyond outworn cultural norms to discover—and to follow—the adventure that is ours alone to create." Lyanda Lynn Haupt, author of Mozart's Starling.

In her late 20s, Cait Flanders found herself stuck in the consumerism cycle that grips so many of us: earn more, buy more, want more, rinse, repeat. Even after she worked her way out of nearly $30,000 of consumer debt, her old habits took hold again. When she realized that nothing she was doing or buying was making her happy - only keeping her from meeting her goals - she decided to set herself a challenge: she would not shop for an entire year.

In her late twenties, Cait Flanders found herself stuck in the consumerism cycle that grips so many of us: earn more, buy more, want more, rinse, repeat. Even after she worked her way out of nearly $30,000 of consumer debt, her old habits took hold again. When she realized that nothing she was doing or buying was making her happy—only keeping her from meeting her goals—she decided to set herself a challenge: she would not shop for an entire year.