Welcome to the Historic Homestead
of Scott & Helen Nearing
The mission of the Good Life Center is to perpetuate the legacy of Helen and Scott Nearing. The Good Life Center, through its programming and preservation of the historic Forest Farm homestead, advocates for simple and sustainable living skills, social and economic justice, organic gardening and the non-exploitation of animals.The Good Life Center is closed for the 2020 season due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. There will be no tours of the premises, and we kindly ask that you postpone your visit until next summer. Please respect the volunteers and neighbors of The Good Life Center by staying safe, and staying home. Our website is a wonderful place to explore the rich history and philosophies of Helen and Scott Nearing. You can also follow us on Facebook @nearings and Instagram @thegoodlifecenter to stay abreast of virtual events and ways to get involved in the good life. Also, none of the Nearings’ legacy is possible without the support of people like you. Please consider a donation to keep the homestead operating for years to come!Find the Good Life Center on InstagramFind the Good Life Center on Facebook
Recent News
Scott Nearing and Black America
by John Saltmarsh – July 2020 As our country once again confronts the racism so deeply embedded in American culture, perhaps this is a good time to revisit Scott Nearing’s writings on Black Americans and racism in the United States. What, if anything, do his writings lend to our understanding of Scott Nearing and of racial discrimination today? Scott wrote ...» Read MoreJuneteenth 2020
by Greg Joly As Scott Nearing observed in his 1929 classic, Black America: “Consciousness of their racial inferiority is constantly forced upon the Negroes by a widespread system of discrimination and exclusion levied against them for no other ground than their skin color.” (163) Nearing refused to relegate Afro-Americans into the sociological catch-all labelled “social problem,” and instead explored their ...» Read More
Real-Time Radical
by Greg Joly Scott published his final book, Civilization and Beyond, in 1975 at the age of 92. It is the culmination of his thinking on economic disparages, politic power, the life cycle of empires, entrepreneurial homesteading, confederated “worldism” and spiritual enlightenment: In every social situation construction and destruction are Siamese Twins. One does not appear without the other. The ...» Read More
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