Doug Fine: Author, Journalist, Adventurer, Goat-Herder
Personal website of author Doug Fine
Click one of the buttons above to order a signed copy of Farewell, My Subaru now. YOU DON’T NEED A PAYPAL MEMBERSHIP TO ORDER – JUST A CREDIT CARD!
“The details of Doug Fine’s experiment in green living are great fun…what we are built for. It’ll make you want to move!” –Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future
“This is Green Acres for the smart set–– a witty and educational look at sustainable living. Buy it, read it, compost it.” –AJ Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically
“Fine survives drought, biblical floods, and UN-hating [ranchers] as he gradually becomes ’solarized’ …along the way readers will root for this dry sharp wit and his rosy green dream. Fine’s funny struggle to become a better world citizen will entertain both the eco-aware, and those who doze peacefully in their home’s formaldehyde fumes.” –Bookpage
“A chuckle or a wry grin is waiting on every page, if not each paragraph. It’s the kind of humor that builds gradually, that sneaks up on you with such stealth that you hardly even realize what a good time you’re having until it’s all over. By the end of Farewell, My Subaru you can think of nothing that would seem like more fun than hanging out at Fine’s ranch, vainly striving to keep his goats from eating the rose bushes. Think James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small — updated as appropriate for the iPod generation.” –Salon
This is a book of carbon-neutral carnage, about my attempts to kick oil while still living like an American. Farewell, My Subaru is the account of everything that can go wrong (and then right) when a regular guy tries to get oil out of his life. It details, among other embarrassing (but, my editor insists, inspiring) realities: coyotes eating my chickens, my near-death due to clumsiness during solar panel installation, and my suffering from Extreme Munchies thanks to the exhaust of my new carbon-neutral, vegetable oil-powered R.O.A.T. (Ridiculously Oversized American Truck). Hence the title of the book – I had to ditch the ol’ reliable Subaru in favor of a diesel. But for all the mishaps, I have reduced my electric bill by 80% and no longer need gas stations to drive. All while keeping my Netflix, my Internet, my fridge, washing machine, and most of all, my booming subwoofers.
Here’s the publisher’s summary:
In Farewell, My Subaru, Doug Fine vows to grow as much of his own food as he can, use only the sun to power his ‘Net surfing and sub-woofer, and consume little to no fossil fuel for an entire year — never mind that he’d never raised so much as a chicken or a bean. Or that he had no mechanical or electrician skills. Or that coyotes and mountain lions would like to treat his Funky Butte Ranch like a buffet line.
Beginning with a near-Biblical flood that makes Doug’s ranch in New Mexico resemble Noah’s Arc, and ending with a hilarious farewell to his beloved Subaru, Fine struggles at every turn with the contradictions and challenges of going green as his shopping list changes overnight from things like, “wasabi” and “pineapple juice” to “shotgun shells” and “goat syringes” (for the mischievous Pans he found on Craigslist).
Including practical resources for regular Americans who want to live greener and funny sidebars with facts you never imagined about the clean, local life, Farewell, My Surbaru is both a hilarious romp and an inspiring call to action; it’s a book for the reluctant environmentalist, the armchair traveler, and anyone who has ever wondered: do I really need that four dollar frappuccino from Kenya?
You can join Doug’s Mailing List now. It will keep you updated on Farewell, My Subaru news, Doug’s live tour dates and media appearances, Doug’s radio work and other journalism, and some generally interesting developments in the Cosmos.
To join Doug at his live events on the Farewell, My Subaru Carbon Neutral Book Tour, find out his tour dates
You can also order Doug’s First Book, Not Really An Alaskan Mountain Man.
38 Responses:
April 8th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Fine work, Doug. A reality check-up & nostalgic trip back to my Mother Earth News-days. Of course, this makes you a nightmare to corporate America; as anti-American as Tom Jefferson.
Love the shotgun blog pic - Elmer Fine, take a bow:)
April 8th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
I just finished your book and I remember when that flood hit. I was driving over the Black Range in a rental car since my truck was in the shop. I felt lucky to get home that day. The flooding was tremendous. Anyways, let us know when you’ll be doing tours of the ranch. Some of us local New Mexicans would love to see what you’ve done, especially with the solar.
FYI, keep your eyes peeled towards the water banking that is going on in the upper portion of the Mimbres basin, you might be interested in what eventually happens with water rights in your area.
April 11th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
just read your article in smithsonian mag, and saw your video! i’m hoping to get your book soon to read the rest of your tale.
stupid question: will you un-farewell your subaru once they start selling the boxer diesel in the US? google it, they already sell em in europe, and they’re coming to the US in another year or two.
April 14th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Your book caught my eye at the front of the local Borders on Saturday (I have two subarus, one in use by my kind of crunchy son). I enjoyed it immensely yesterday.
April 17th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I just finished the book. The wife and I are looking at farms right now and your book gives us more data to guide the choice. Esp. liked the material on veggie oil trucks. We are considering growing our own veg oil (fliberts). If that works out, we won’t even be contribute to other people’s cholesterol problems.
I’m sure the ranch will give you plenty to write about over the next two years. I’ll be in line to buy the next book.
April 18th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Loved the book, just finished it. It will be a gift book for several friends this year. I have a great library in Missoula, I requested they buy your book and they did. I’m amassing a library on sustainability so the people who come after us will know that some of us cared and were concerned. I find myself being more and more conscious of my carbon footprint. Raise a lot of my own food, buy from local people, can and freeze to preserve, use a clothesline. Will look for your book about Alaska, Thanks for the great read, Donna
April 21st, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Doug,
A few weeks ago, I suggested to the Santa Clara County Library that they get FMS and I just noticed they had purchased 2 copies; maybe someone else asked for it too. There’s a waiting list of 8 at the moment which is cool. I’ll ask them to get NRAMM as well, forgot to ask last time.
It was great to see you in Palo Alto (with your yummy Indian food smelling truck) and I wish you all the best for the rest of the tour.
Happy human and goat babies - kids breaking out all over! 
metta
April 25th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Just finished the book. Loved it! Lots to think about; where did this come from? how did it get here? what did it cost the planet? Kinda blows th mind. Reading your book opened my eyes in many ways and made me realize that we aren’t all cut out for a move to NM or living off the land but we can do more every day right here where we are. I plan to start today. Good luck to you and yours! Linda
April 25th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Hey, What’s my car doing on the cover of your new book? Haha. I have the same exact car, color and trim and all. I thought it was funny you call it the most trusty car and yet now its not running. Sounds like mine. Trusty for a long time, then suddenly dies and it is expensive to fix. Everday I feel like saying “Farewell my Subaru” yet I don’t. Good luck with the book tour, I don’t think I could leave my homestead for that long, too much work to do.
May 11th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
I ordered your book several months ago and couldn’t wait for it to be dropped through the mail slot. Unfortunately, my roommates dog couldn’t wait either. She couldn’t put it down…thought it was a real page turner…
Hopefully, I will get a new one soon. It looked delicious.
May 12th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
This, Kelly, is the kind of review I (and, for my money, any author worth his or her salt) seek: the interspecies declaration of, “Delicious.”
May 18th, 2008 at 12:25 am
So i just heard you via Koho radio 101.1 from Leavenworth WA. You were on E-town i think it was. After hearing about your book i just can’t wait to get my hands it. It sounds amazing, mad props.
Becca from WA
May 27th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
I just finished FMS. The book was seriously thought provoking and still provided enough humor to allow us all to laugh with the author and at him. I found it particularly enjoyable because I spent a long weekend visiting friends in the Mimbres valley a couple of years ago and was blessed with beautiful hiking weather and a chance to see the Gila cliff dwellings. So what’s with the Australian Cattle dogs? My friends also adopted one when they moved to the valley. Best of luck! How’s the ice cream?
June 19th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Listening to you right now on KERA on Think! w/ Kris Boyd (a rerun) I wish you had done all this as a married man w/ kids. That would be the true test of how to pull it off.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Looks like a fun book. If you really want to know more about the easiest way to raise your own food, check out “barrelponics”. Once you’ve mastered that, you can move up to other aquaponic endeavors. All very green, you can thank me later.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Reply to David Hill — Does engaged man with one kid count?
To Dave - Indeed, aquaponics is one of the next steps here on the Funky Butte Ranch. Look for Dispatches on the topic later in the year.
Appreciate the posts.
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:44 pm
I heard you on the KERA Think replay as well and will be getting the book soon. The SVO conversion seems like a no-brainer, but can you give me some resources again for finding sources for used cooking oil?
June 24th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Eric-
SVO (straight vegetable oil, to the uninitiated) availability varies greatly per area. Sometimes you can make deals with a restaurant to collect their grease. Good luck!
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:37 pm
After a visit to my girlfriend’s family in rural Montana, I have been planning on getting off the grid. Solar and wind power kept the house, auto shop, et cetera in AC. We are building a cabin there next summer. See my website for more pictures of Montana. Hell ya, I’m buying the book!
July 11th, 2008 at 6:33 am
Doug,
I heard you speak a few months ago at Nat Geo. Now I keep hearing folks on the news griping about being stuck with their big SUVs. They have no resale value and they can’t afford to fill the tanks. I keep hoping you’ll pop up with your great ROAT solution. Get out there and spread the word on NPR and NY Times…
~Summer
August 5th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Doug -
Loved the book! Kevin converted our VW wagon to veggie oil in February 2007 - we’re so glad we did it! But it was so fun to read about someone having the same experiences as we have had: clogged filters, manual purging, etc. Mad props to you and also Kevin who talked my husband through a million little tweaks on the system over the phone!
August 9th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Thanks for that — Kevin, for folks who haven’t yet read “Farewell, My Subaru,” is the vegetable oil mechanic who converted my R,O.A.T, (Ridiculously Oversized American Truck) to run on grease in the book, and in life. Still running great now two years later.
October 4th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Farewell My Subaru is full of laughs. It was great hearing you speak at Crowder College. I hope that this book is inspiring others, too, now that we could be approaching times where living off of the grid may be a necessity as opposed to a choice.
October 13th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Doug, I read your “Lives” piece in the Sunday New York Times Magazine and had to look your book up. Congratulations on all your hard work. And those baby goats are the cutest things I have seen in a long time. Best wishes, Michele Seigerman Bennett.
November 1st, 2008 at 7:26 am
Amazing, Doug. I don’t think I will be farming/ranching at your level in a year or five years. However, I believe that the principles you exemplified in FMS will have me looking to do my part in how I shop. Thank you for another example of how I can live my life to be more in harmony with the Earth and everything that lives on the face of it.
April 4th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Doug –
Terrific book! We’re envious of your off-gridness. It pains us that we can’t have solae due to our trees. I hope you don’t mind that we added the title to our website. We’ll be reviewing it soon. Good luck!
http://www.greengrrlsecoadventure.com
June 14th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Hey Doug, just finished your book this weekend. I’m glad I found it! Thanks.
July 23rd, 2009 at 10:20 am
I really liked the last couple paragraphs of the book, how the entire journey was wrapped up into another beginning on a new journey with Michelle. I liked the ease of the read, which leads me to believe the nature of the author is just that, easy to hang out with..and I especially liked that such hard work and dedication could be viewed from the laborer as so light and adventure-some…
September 30th, 2009 at 11:16 am
Greetings from South Korea!
You had some experiences I usually daydream here. I wanna build that kind of life at some point of my life, too. I had lots of fun reading it. Also, learned the reality. Thanks for sharing and making our planet more green Take care!
June 17th, 2010 at 11:52 pm
Loved the book. Read parts to my wife as we laughed out loud. We’re grid inter-tied, have 12 chickens producing 10 free range eggs a day, solar water heater, geodesic dome, and value our environment.
July 16th, 2010 at 10:55 pm
I recently purchased the book for my freshman year of college at the University of Texas San Antonio, and so far has been a great read, for once a project I am glad about. Your humility and humorous attitude make for an awesome book. I have never been much of a “hippie” but your thoughts in the book make me think. Thanks for the amazing bookl, hope to see more.
August 14th, 2010 at 10:14 pm
So “Farewell, My Subaru” was a required reading for my freshman year at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and I will say this, I went into the book with the mind set that this was gonna be one of the least interesting books I’ll ever read…then I actually started reading it and I was hooked; I could not put the book down. It really left me thinking about life, both short term and long term, and I am really looking forward to seeing Mr. Fine himself speak at freshman convocation on August 23rd.
September 28th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
Listening to you right now on KERA on Think! w/ Kris Boyd (a rerun) I wish you had done all this as a married man w/ kids. That would be the true test of how to pull it off.
October 15th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Doug,
I just purchased your book. I recently finished reading “Off the Grid” by Nick Rosen and several years ago read “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver, and look forward to reading your personal account on sustainable living. I am five years from retirement from the U.S. Army and I’m trying to figure out which path to take - begin a second career in the corporate world or pursing a path more like yours. I look forward to reading more from you in NM Magazine in the coming months.
April 9th, 2011 at 10:13 am
Thanks for your refreshing blog Doug! I recently discovered how right you are in your approach to life through my tremendous frustration with my iPhone and my computer(s). Always being connected, being tied to the grid/inserted into the matrix, sitting in a desk chair, is something that’s been wearing on me heavily. I asked myself the question, why am I so irritated constantly? Simply having my iphone off and taking off for a one month aid trip to Haiti, where electricity is sporadic on a good day, made me realize the error of my westernized thinking: “We think we need all this stuff, and nearly kill ourselves trying to afford it all” For thousands of years humans have done without gasoline and electricity, huge houses, AC, and plastic and they’ve been just fine. The price we’re paying for our energy greed is too high - as evidenced recently by the nuclear crisis in Japan, and the ongoing war(s) over oil. By creating a dependence on what should be considered luxury items, we’ve created an ominous looking house of cards. I’m looking forward to a simpler, healthier and more balanced life, and your blog is helping me envision how to accomplish this. Thank you