I probably would have scored this higher if it didn’t have the most inaccurate title in the universe. This is a self help book on adulting, time management, declutterring and money, but there is nothing slow about her advice. She says you should think of your 9-5 job as more like 5-9 because you should get up at 5 a.m. every day to do things for yourself like jogging, journaling, praying and tidying up before you start taking care of everyone else and leave for work. Then expect to be going until 9 p.m. but be sure to get 7-9 hours of sleep a night (that math doesn’t math).

This is endless advice about investing for your retirement, keeping your house clean, not comparing yourself to others, etc but it’s all in surface level quick, pithy advice that doesn’t speak to the real lives of many. It’s designed for married, middle class mothers of privilege. Period. She actually suggests saving up $1.5 million for retirement, plus what you are saving for your children’s college and an emergency fund. She says she and her husband paid off her $30k credit card debt in 2 years by doing things like driving old cars and not going out to eat. You have to be making a lot more than that to simply pay rent and eat. There’s no talk about single people, people with chronic illness, people who live near the poverty line, etc.

But most of all, this book has nothing to do with slow living. I live a slow life and love it. My life could not be farther from hers even though we are both middle aged, married white mothers. Just reading this book gave me anxiety. It sounds hellish to me to get up at 5 every morning to jog and clean. That is not how I slow down.

The author is a life coach from San Francisco and that shines through. If you want to stay in the hustle culture and you live a life of relative privilege, this might give you a few helpful tips. I’m not even sure about that though, as it’s mostly personal memoir and cheerleading, with lots of anagrams and Oprah quotes.

I read a temporary digital loan of this book for review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC to review.

I requested a copy of this book to read because I struggle in trying to get it all done: work, family, bills, health, cleaning, errands, cooking, errands, etc. Plus, the fun factor.

I wanted to love this book, but the more I read, the more I disliked it.

Her target audience seems to be a married woman with school-age children. The target reader most likely has no job, a part-time job, or perhaps a 40-hour or less job.

Those who like this book are probably people who haven't given much thought to how they spend their time or money. They aren't living intentionally.

The contents are divided into four parts with each part having three or five subsections:

Mindset: The Why
The Five Steps to Slow Living: The How
The Peace Pyramid: The Reward
Walking It Out: The Journey

Had I known the author considers herself a "life coach," I wouldn't have requested a copy. I find most of these "life coaches" to be ordinary people who think they have something special to say. Need life coaching? Go to a certified, licensed counselor with a real degree from a not-for-profit higher ed institution that is accredited. I do know of life coaches who have legitimate counseling degrees, and if you want a life coach, go to that person.

I was astounded by her statement: "But I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and still live here now. This means that some of my closest friends were (and still are) atheists." Wow. What a moronic statement to make.

Her acronyms include her own, others, and repurposed ones that we have heard before, such as FOMO. Also, her made up word, "decisioning." I became more and more annoyed with all her acronyms.

What I liked because these are similar to what I have found that work for me:
-her peace pyramid (time management, health, finances, organization, and relationships)
-her 10-minute chunks
-she does reference authors whose work I love, Marie Kondo, James Clear, and Brene Brown

What I disliked:
-too much law of attraction wording
-the acronyms
-the chaotic, superfluous writing
-this is geared toward a wife and mother of school-aged kids

I have read so many more things that cover this and so much better from Marie Kondo, Martha Stewart, James Clear, Brene Brown, BJ Fogg, the Fly Lady, Simon Sinek, Kimberly Wilson, etc.

Nothing ground breaking here but a good reminder about regularly checking in with yourself and getting back to what you really want. I would have liked this book to be more ‘beautiful’ with some lovely imagery.

In Simple Living, O'Dea focuses on the benefits of taking life at a slower pace and then gives suggestions for ways to set up a life that lets us get to that point. One of the strongest things about this book is that O'Dea addresses the issue by focusing on what changes you can make to the structure of your life in order to feel like you are Slow Living. In comparison to other books on the topic, it is much more actionable as opposed to focused fully on changing your seeing the world. She posits that there is some planning and organizing of our life structure that lays a ground work for life to run in a more simple fashion, allowing us to then appreciate a slower pace and some of the smaller things we are thankful for.

Slow Living
Stephanie O’Dea
I really liked this book. It wasn’t just focusing on slow living but it focused on goals, relationships, movement and exploration. These themes motivated me to complete my own goals, to further put myself in a positive mindset. A mindset where I can achieve these tasks and start growing as a person. I liked that there were tables and acronyms throughout the book. These helped solidify my knowledge and improve my strategic planning. I loved how organised this book was, split up into different sections and talking about different topics in a coherent manner. 5 ⭐️

Have a better slower life

I really enjoyed this book. It’s about the many different aspects of living more slowly and how we can learn to slow down and live with more intention.

Stephanie covers the how, the benefits we can gain. in making more time, health, finances, organisation and relationships. She then goes on to provide a plan for how we can integrate the changes into our lives and shift to a permanently slower pace of life.

I found many useful pointers for improving quality of life and hope that others will read the book and benefit too.

I was given this book from the author via netgalley only for the pleasure of reading and leaving an honest review should I choose to.

Slow Living by Stephanie O'Dea is a gentle yet powerful reminder to step off the hamster wheel of modern life and find fulfillment not in doing more, but in doing what truly matters. This isn’t just a book—it’s an invitation to pause, reflect, and reimagine what success means in a world obsessed with hustle and overachievement.

O'Dea skillfully weaves personal anecdotes, client success stories, and actionable advice to help readers cultivate a life that feels intentional and meaningful. Her tone is warm, relatable, and encouraging—like sitting down with a wise friend who genuinely wants the best for you. The guidance she provides feels attainable, not overwhelming, with steps designed to integrate seamlessly into your existing life rather than upend it.

The book’s greatest strength lies in its practicality. O'Dea doesn’t just tell you to slow down—she gives you tools to figure out how. From identifying your purpose and defining personal success to visualizing your goals and navigating life’s inevitable challenges, the steps are simple yet transformative. Her emphasis on finding joy in small, everyday moments is a refreshing counterpoint to the relentless pursuit of "more" that dominates modern culture.

While some parts lean heavily on the "life coach" approach, which may not resonate with everyone, the underlying principles are universal. This book doesn’t promise overnight transformation; instead, it offers a roadmap to gradual, sustainable change. And perhaps that’s its most powerful message: fulfillment isn’t a destination—it’s a practice.

4 stars for its heart, wisdom, and ability to inspire real, actionable change. If you’re tired of the grind and ready to rediscover the beauty of a purposeful life, Slow Living might be the guide you didn’t know you needed. 🌿

Enjoyed this book with great ideas for how to slow down the pace of life.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oof. This was a weird combo of self-help and memoir that didn’t work for me at all. It’s very surface level and if you’re at all familiar with mindfulness or slow living, there may not be much here for you.
Despite the author’s note at the beginning, this seems heavily geared to partnered, middle-aged woman that have kids and enjoy disposable income.

What worked for me:
👍 Ditching goals and the dangers of conflating goals with purpose
👍 A job is just a way to sustain your financial needs, life and identity is to be found elsewhere
👍 SMART goals are stupid

What I wasn’t so keen on:
👎 Writing style is almost condescendingly simplistic and cheerleadery, like the author is writing for children, not adults.
👎 So many platitudes and social media-esque quotes with no substance.
👎 Too much religion
👎 Censored curse words
👎 That’s not what Vision Quest means
👎 So much advice from Disney and millionaires 🤢
👎 Embarrassing acronyms: rule one of accessible writing is don’t bury stuff in acronyms. Doubly so when it’s acronyms you’re literally inventing.
👎 The advice to too surface-level and the author is too present for this to read convincingly like a self-help non fic.
👎 For the love of god, folks, don’t throw out everything in your home. Consider the planet and release things into the circular economy… then practice mindful purchasing so you don’t accumulate stuff
👎 There’s a lot of repetition and filler within these pages, I don’t get the impression this content naturally stretched to a book
👎 The financial section is oozing with privilege and makes a lot of harmful assumptions and generalizations
👎 I didn’t like how the whole book was presented as a formula that you need to follow… kinda like a get rich quick scheme for wellbeing.
👎 The introverted/extroverted table is just plain wrong? More yeses equate introversion yet 50% of them are extroverted biased in their wording?!
👎 The formulas, annoying acronyms, repetition, fake matey-ness, pyramids all made me feel like the author was trying to sell me something. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.
👎 Where was the environmental stewardship in this book?!

Do I think this has some good points?
Sure.
Do I think this works as a book?
Not really.

🤷‍♀️ I can’t in good conscience recommend this. It’s all over the place… and not in a fun way. I never want to see an acronym again.

This guide to Simple Living is easy to read and full of actionable suggestions. It helps us take stock of our lives, our choices and enables us to move to a slower pace of life, enabling us to concentrate on what matters most to each one of us. Humans were not designed and built for the constant grind of modern life, We push our selves at work, come home to work on a side hustle and have no time for ourselves or our families. Let’s stop believing that we can have it all, do. It all and still thrive. Slow living is what we all need more of. It will just look different to each one of us.

I really enjoyed this book, although the language at times felt a little bit too hokey for me. I will definitely take a lot of tools from this book and I do feel slightly more motivated to tidy/organize my space after reading!

Really enjoyed reading this and absorbing the tips on slowing down our lives. Recommended to all. Thank you for the ARC.

I have followed Stephanie since she had started her 365 days of crockpot meals years ago! I still use several of her recipes so when she started into the concept of slow living I was on board. This was a great book detailing how to slow down and focus more on just being present rather than so overstimulated in a fast paced life. Really enjoyed it and will recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley, Stephanie O'Dea, and Dexterity books for allowing me to review this ARC!

I like this book. It’s concise, makes sense and gives you actionable pointers. I found that it was relevant to what I needed and was a good start to making life more fulfilled but at a more sensible pace.

I followed O'Dea years ago when she was known online for her crockpot recipes. She's back with a book on simplifying your life, using her PROM method of purging, removing, organizing, and maintaining. A good resource for those looking for a simpler life!

This book is great for someone like me who is always go go go and anxious. It really teaches you how to slow down and do things with more intention and enjoy life.