Louise Southerden is an award-winning travel writer for publications such as The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Having lived out of a suitcase for a very long time, calling whatever accommodation she finds herself in when working on a story ‘home’, she sets out to redefine what Home really means to her.
In this vulnerable memoir, Louise shares with us her journey of designing and building a tiny house, a place of her own. As with any build, there are ups and downs: many challenges to be overcome, made even more complicated by her wobbly love relationship with her boyfriend, Max.
I really enjoyed this book – Louise has made the minutiae of building incredibly interesting because of the way she describes the work. Each step is interwoven with her thoughts, feelings and musings about life, nature, human nature, psychology and relationships.
Having never built a house before, Louise encounters a steep learning curve and regular moments of self-doubt, made more difficult by her uneven relationship with Max and his building mate, George, who she relies on to guide her through the process.
There are excruciating and recognisable moments where the roller-coaster and roundabout of her relationship keeps repeating the same patterns, illustrating so clearly how complicated love relationships really are. I love Louise’s attention to detail, her mindful musings on life and her experiences and highly recommend this book to anyone interested in building a tiny house, psychology, relationships and what it is to be human.
Book review by Amanda Brinkman
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Louise Southerden is an Australian author and award-winning travel writer with a passion for living close to nature and travelling as simply and sustainably as possible.
Originally from Sydney, Louise has written a number of non-fiction books including the world’s first surfing guide for women and now lives in a tiny house in northern NSW.
Tiny is her first memoir.
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