Doing without is something the characters in my novel, Reckless Rescue, have had to learn to live with. When their planet was threatened by a life ending meteor, the political leaders fled, taking with them the valuable research and scientists, leaving everyone else behind.
Some of the people managed to escape to a nearby planet, but with no way to go further, they werestill cut off from the life they knew, and any access to resources. In the twenty years before my story starts, they’ve had to learn to live without access to shops, electricity, or any of the luxuries we all take for granted.
They have to grow and process all their own food, make their own clothes, and build their own houses. It’s lucky they’re a resourceful bunch. Despite all this though, many of them want to return to the Colonies, not because of the hardships they live with, but because there is a quiet menace on the planet—a gas that is destroying their fertility.
Doing without children is far worse than all the other things they have learned to live without.
If you’re interested in reading more, you can read the first two chapters of Reckless Rescue for free.
What would you hate to live without? Chocolate? Coffee? Running water? Indoor plumbing?
All this month I’m participating in the A-Z blogging challenge, writing a blog post for each letter of the alphabet, on every day of the month except Sundays. Check back regularly to see what else I have in store for you.
Hot showers! I’d miss those straight away.
Oh yes! Me too.
I lived without running water for 3 years. I thought it would be for 2 weeks! Never imagined I could learn so much from that experience. (Not to mention arm muscles from carrying so much water…) And I NEVER thought I would actually enjoy washing clothes by hand..
I remember a bit of washing clothes by hand. We even had one of those old mangles, that squashed the water out. After a couple of times though, we took them to the laundromat!
I lived without writing for a couple of months.. Almost went criminally insane.. Nice post Rinelle
Living without writing is just something a writer should never do! Glad you survived. 🙂
Doing Without leading to DIY – I like that spirit. Much of my Fantasy world is repurposed, flipped to makeshift functionality out of whatever’s survived. Optimism in the face of tragedy is just more interesting, isn’t it?
I think it’s one of those things humans do best, make do, find ways to manipulate what they have until it’s useable. It’s a topic that I find fascinating.
I wouldn’t want to live without any of those. I’ve been craving chocolate more than usual lately, so it would be awful to live without that. If I don’t have my morning coffee, I get a headache. I do without running water and plumbing when I do dry camping. That gets old fast. So, yeah, I like my comforts.
It sounds like you’ve put the characters in your book through some survival training. I put my main character on a dark planet and made her eat bugs. Lucky for her they taste like crab. 🙂
It’s exactly why I DON’T do camping. Done enough of that in my life thank you.
I suppose bugs could be survivable if they tasted like crab. But only once you get past the shell. Are they big enough to shell, or does she eat shell and all?
Yes, they are quite large and resemble a cockroach. She roasts them and eats the meat only. They are carnivorous, so it’s either eat them or be eaten by them. 🙂
Nice post Rinelle! I have actually put a lot of thought into this and my one determination, besides the obvious necessities like water and chocolate, is that I could not live without feminine hygiene products. Ladies, we’re luckier than we even realize.
LOL. I think I’d put toilet paper up alongside that one! Not too many good substitutes.
Sounds like Cuba! I saw a film about how they did w/o chemical fertilizer, tractors, and mechanized agricultural aids. Ploughed by oxen or donkey or mule, repaired their own trucks by making up parts, and their farms were very productive. I think it’s the Greening of Cuba.
I’ve heard of that movie, though I haven’t seen it. It sounds very inspirational.