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House Lessons: Renovating a Life
FROMNEW YORK TIMESBESTSELLING AUTHOR ERICA BAUERMEISTER COMES A MEMOIR ABOUTTHE POWER OFHOME AND THE TRANSFORMATIVE ACT OF RESTORINGONE HOUSE IN PARTICULAR.
“I think anyone who saves an old house has to be a caretaker at heart, a believer in underdogs, someone whose imagination is inspired by limitations, not endless options.�
In this mesmerizing memoir-in-essays, Erica Bauermeister renovates a trash-filled house in eccentric Port Townsend, Washington, and in the process takes readers on a journey to discover the ways our spaces subliminally affect us. A personal, accessible, and literary exploration of the psychology of architecture, as well as alovingtribute to the connections we forge with the homes we care forand live in, this book is designed for anyone who’s ever fallen head over heels for a house. It is also a story of a marriage, of family, and of the kind of roots that settle deep into your heart. Discover what happens when a house has its own lessons to teach in this moving and insightful memoir that ultimately shows us how to make ourownhomes (and lives) better.
“I think anyone who saves an old house has to be a caretaker at heart, a believer in underdogs, someone whose imagination is inspired by limitations, not endless options.�
In this mesmerizing memoir-in-essays, Erica Bauermeister renovates a trash-filled house in eccentric Port Townsend, Washington, and in the process takes readers on a journey to discover the ways our spaces subliminally affect us. A personal, accessible, and literary exploration of the psychology of architecture, as well as alovingtribute to the connections we forge with the homes we care forand live in, this book is designed for anyone who’s ever fallen head over heels for a house. It is also a story of a marriage, of family, and of the kind of roots that settle deep into your heart. Discover what happens when a house has its own lessons to teach in this moving and insightful memoir that ultimately shows us how to make ourownhomes (and lives) better.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published March 24, 2020
375 people are currently reading
6825 people want to read
About the author
Erica Bauermeister
15books2,790followersErica Bauermeister is the NYT bestselling author of five novels -- The Scent Keeper (a Reese's Book Club pick), The School of Essential Ingredients, Joy for Beginners, The Lost Art of Mixing, and a new novel, No Two Persons, due out in May of 2023. She has also written a memoir, House Lessons: Renovating a Life and is the co-author of two readers' guides: 500 Great Books by Women and Let's Hear It For the Girls. She currently lives in Port Townsend, Wa with her husband and 238 wild deer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 406 reviews
March 25, 2020
Do you like to read memoirs? How about home renovation books?�
�
You might recognize this authors name. Erica is actually the genius behind one of my favorite books last year, The Scent Keeper. In this memoir - yes, it’s about Erica - but more specifically, one particular point in her life when she purchases and renovates a dilapidated home in Washington.�
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This is ultimately, and uniquely, a memoir about a house.�
�
The main “character� is old, and cranky. Stuffed to the gills with trash, it has more quirks and eccentricities than one might prefer in a protagonist. And it’s quite dangerous, but not in a thriller-type way. Like actual danger - as in, turn on the water and plan to be electrocuted.⚡�
�
We follow Erica’s journey as her and her family slog through what feels like the longest cleanup and renovation ever, all the while falling in love with this codgey, old house. She beautifully integrates snippets of her life and her own thoughts on identity and foundation, as the house also struggles to find itself. We are taken on a journey of the way a homes can affect us; how a home makes you feel; the connections we form with them; the smell of each ones individual space (yes, of course she talks about the scents!); and tons of unique facts and history, with gorgeous hand drawn illustrations interspersed throughout.�
�
I hope you’ll give this one a chance - it’s out today, and is one of the most interesting and beautiful memoirs I’ve ever read.�
�
You might recognize this authors name. Erica is actually the genius behind one of my favorite books last year, The Scent Keeper. In this memoir - yes, it’s about Erica - but more specifically, one particular point in her life when she purchases and renovates a dilapidated home in Washington.�
�
This is ultimately, and uniquely, a memoir about a house.�
�
The main “character� is old, and cranky. Stuffed to the gills with trash, it has more quirks and eccentricities than one might prefer in a protagonist. And it’s quite dangerous, but not in a thriller-type way. Like actual danger - as in, turn on the water and plan to be electrocuted.⚡�
�
We follow Erica’s journey as her and her family slog through what feels like the longest cleanup and renovation ever, all the while falling in love with this codgey, old house. She beautifully integrates snippets of her life and her own thoughts on identity and foundation, as the house also struggles to find itself. We are taken on a journey of the way a homes can affect us; how a home makes you feel; the connections we form with them; the smell of each ones individual space (yes, of course she talks about the scents!); and tons of unique facts and history, with gorgeous hand drawn illustrations interspersed throughout.�
�
I hope you’ll give this one a chance - it’s out today, and is one of the most interesting and beautiful memoirs I’ve ever read.�
June 19, 2020
I turned to this book about a home renovation as a source of lightness amid a ton of serious antiracist reading, but I didn’t suspect how deep it would be. It hit me in the feels. I thought it would be about the physical space, but the way she wove home and family and the feel/spiritual meaning of a house into this book was lovely. I admire the fact that she wrote this about a huge span of time, with the wisdom and life experience of all that time under her belt. I was thrilled to receive this from a ŷ giveaway, and so pleased that it was so well done. I deeply wished I could see photos of the house, before/during/after, but I will just have to watch some home reno tv to get that fix!
August 11, 2021
Somehow this book managed to be boring, trying too hard, meandering, and vaguely elitist all at once.
May 13, 2020
I loved this book. I described it my wife as “mellow.� Each chapter is a stage in the purchase and renovation of an old, abandoned house she and her husband purchased and renovated along with their young kids (young when the book started....the book covers many years as it is a long time before they finally moved in). The book is purportedly her memoir, although it is really more a memoir of the house and what she learned along the way. Good self-reflection on life, not overly preachy or overwrought or oversharing, is the heart of each chapter and was just the right level for me, not too much nor too little. No whining. No overwrought angst. Just real life thoughts that real life people have. It is beautifully written (she has a Ph.D in literature from the University of Washington and has a few other NYT best sellers so she is not new to writing). The chapter describing when she finally closes the door on their old home literally had me teary-eyed. Good book. (Again, it is mellow. No emotional outbursts, no sex, no car chases, no affairs or drama. Just a real life and a real family and it is beautiful.)
March 21, 2020
I was really delighted by this book, probably because the only thing I miss about my few years as a Realtor is the opportunity to look at an endless number of houses. The details about architecture and the ideas about how our living spaces shape us were fascinating to me.
Thank you to ŷ Giveaways for the ARC.
Thank you to ŷ Giveaways for the ARC.
August 11, 2020
I purchased this book because I love the author's fiction and have read them all. I purchased this book because I love books about houses. I purchased this book from an Independent Bookstore to help them during the loss of business during this pandemic, and to support the author. I purchased this book to read and then donate to my local Library. I kept this book.
I wasn't expecting to connect to this book at the level that I did. It was more than a book about renovating an old house...it was also about the bonds of a family and what makes a house a home. It was a thoughtful story with bits of history and insightfulness scattered throughout. I will be keeping this treasure as part of my collection, and I may loan it out, but I won't give it away.
I wasn't expecting to connect to this book at the level that I did. It was more than a book about renovating an old house...it was also about the bonds of a family and what makes a house a home. It was a thoughtful story with bits of history and insightfulness scattered throughout. I will be keeping this treasure as part of my collection, and I may loan it out, but I won't give it away.
April 16, 2020
I should have read the reviews before reading the book. Books about buying old houses and renovating/restoring them are one of my favorite genres. This book, however, is more about the life lessons the author learned along the way. It also veers off into the history of architecture, how to raise children, living in Italy. It was trying to be too many things, none of which I really wanted. I skimmed through most of it because I am sincerely not interested in anything deep and educational right now. Two stars because the author definitely can write but it was far too navel-gazingish and pretentious.
April 6, 2020
Having met Erica on several occasions, I felt while reading as if we were talking over a cup of tea in her kitchen. She is insightful, sensitive, an observer and most of all she is honest. She is honest about her childhood, her marriage and raising two children. What she isn’t is judgemental, negative or carry a grudge. She puts into words feelings I have felt and never thought to say out loud. This book carries so much on each page, although the book is rather small. There is a beauty in this book that is not often found in a memoir. I sincerely recommend reading this book.
February 29, 2020
Novelist Erica Bauermeister has written a memoir called “House Lessons�. Set in the early 2000's, it's the story of the house she and her family bought and gutted in Port Townsend, Washington. And how the redoing of a house brought her family closer together, as such projects usually do.
It's taken me a while to write this review; I finished the book a few weeks ago. While I enjoyed the book, it didn't really speak to me. I wish it had, because Bauermeister is a good writer.
It's taken me a while to write this review; I finished the book a few weeks ago. While I enjoyed the book, it didn't really speak to me. I wish it had, because Bauermeister is a good writer.
March 16, 2020
I received a free publisher's advance review copy.
I’ve always been fascinated by houses, so I snapped this up. You really have to admire this author and her family, because they were not able to get a good look at this derelict property before they bought it. The house had been owned by hoarders and they had to cart away literally dozens of tons of stuff before they could even see what they were dealing with structurally. The house also had a large lot with about a dozen fruit trees, but they were all completely covered by ivy. Many truckloads of ivy had to be removed before the family could even see what they had in their orchard.
The author felt that the house had a living personality—not a good one—when it was derelict and crammed full of stuff, but it began to breathe and transformed itself as it was cleaned out, renovated, and then became a home. It was fascinating to read about that process, the lore of houses, and the lives of the author and her family over the years from the time they first spotted the house to when they moved in and became the caretakers of the house’s history.
I’m not one for magical thinking, but I was charmed by the several incidents of coincidence and happenstance that went into the life of the house and this family. I can’t imagine tackling a job as daunting as theirs, but I very much enjoyed reading about their journey.
I’ve always been fascinated by houses, so I snapped this up. You really have to admire this author and her family, because they were not able to get a good look at this derelict property before they bought it. The house had been owned by hoarders and they had to cart away literally dozens of tons of stuff before they could even see what they were dealing with structurally. The house also had a large lot with about a dozen fruit trees, but they were all completely covered by ivy. Many truckloads of ivy had to be removed before the family could even see what they had in their orchard.
The author felt that the house had a living personality—not a good one—when it was derelict and crammed full of stuff, but it began to breathe and transformed itself as it was cleaned out, renovated, and then became a home. It was fascinating to read about that process, the lore of houses, and the lives of the author and her family over the years from the time they first spotted the house to when they moved in and became the caretakers of the house’s history.
I’m not one for magical thinking, but I was charmed by the several incidents of coincidence and happenstance that went into the life of the house and this family. I can’t imagine tackling a job as daunting as theirs, but I very much enjoyed reading about their journey.
March 29, 2020
Sure wish she’d mention costs. How much was the House? How much to raise the foundation? How much was the architect?
For them to even take this “project� on, means that they had to have a huge chunk of funds. So it seems disingenuous each of the many, many times she mentions costs/estimates....and concern over the amount.
Reminded me of meeting up with someone who had millions, lived in the most expensive part of Houston (River Oaks), and was complaining about his utility bills.
And All Things Kids bogged down the story.
For them to even take this “project� on, means that they had to have a huge chunk of funds. So it seems disingenuous each of the many, many times she mentions costs/estimates....and concern over the amount.
Reminded me of meeting up with someone who had millions, lived in the most expensive part of Houston (River Oaks), and was complaining about his utility bills.
And All Things Kids bogged down the story.
May 27, 2020
Finished in one day! Loved it.
August 6, 2021
4.5 stars. There are certain books that are good company, and this memoir was inspiring, comforting, wise, and educational all at once. I appreciated the bibliography at the end, too, for further exploration. Most of all, it invited me to dream my own dreams of home.
October 20, 2020
“This is how we move forward-one house, one tradition, one generation at a time. It takes vision and hope and not a little naivete, but in the end, we can make something beautiful. Useful. Strong.�
Erica Bauermeister isn’t sure how to describe the reason she was so enamored with the decrepit house on the hill. But she and her husband took the plunge nonetheless and gave themselves to the renovation of the house in Port Townsend - two hours north of their current home in Seattle.
Even if you’ve never built or remodeled a house, you’ll relish the details of this true story of family and home.
Erica Bauermeister isn’t sure how to describe the reason she was so enamored with the decrepit house on the hill. But she and her husband took the plunge nonetheless and gave themselves to the renovation of the house in Port Townsend - two hours north of their current home in Seattle.
Even if you’ve never built or remodeled a house, you’ll relish the details of this true story of family and home.
January 11, 2020
Absolutely loved this book. A beautiful memoir about creating a home. The author and her family saw potential in a house that many people would have torn down. They removed tons of trash (literally), completely rebuilt the foundation, and designed a welcoming, sun filled, refuge that reflected both the history and original "bones" of the house, as well as new ideas. The author is refreshingly open and honest about the process of such a massive undertaking and the impact of the joys and trials of home renovation on her family. The reader will also learn a lot of practical and psychological information about design, room placement, and how to make their own space more alive. Erica Bauermeister has written many works of fiction (all of which I loved) and I was therefore curious about her transition to non-fiction. Rest assured, her lyrical, flowing writing style in this book echos what you loved in The School of Essential Ingredients and Joy for Beginners. A must read.
May 20, 2020
A thoughtful, meandering memoir about renovating an old house, about the meaning of home and hearth, and about dealing with changes, particularly in the family unit. I picked this up expecting a light, fluffy read about taking on a fixer upper, but I got a lot more than I expected (which was a good thing). This book made me think--perhaps really deeply for the first time, and even more so now that we are house hunting again--about how much the structure and layout of a house affects the way the inhabitants within live and interact with each other, and about how different structures have different feelings about them for that very reason, among others. I really enjoyed this, though I'm not sure how many others would. It's definitely well written and has just enough of a plot (ish) to keep going, but it's meant to provoke introspection more than it's meant to entertain, which I know isn't everyone's thing, especially for summer reading.
August 13, 2020
One of the best books I've read this year. Erica Bauermeister's memoir of her and her husband's journey of choosing and renovating a house amidst raising two adolescent children and dealing with the reality of the ups and downs of life is lyrical and inspirational. She weaves together interesting facts regarding the history of houses and their styles, as well as, the discoveries and trials they went through in the renovation of their house. Ultimately, this book will be savored by any of us who are interested in making a house a home, finding their place, ever had romantic notions of renovating a old home, and building roots for their family. For those who are lucky enough to have renovated a home - it might spur cherished reflections. A book I couldn't put down, flagged many pages for quotes to write down, will buy a copy for a friend and one for my shelf. Thank you to Annie from "The Bookshelf" and "From the Front Porch" podcast for once again recommending a great book.
November 6, 2020
There are plenty of thoughtful life lessons in Erica Bauermeister's House Lessons as she artfully interweaves the story of renovating a derelict house with reflections on home, motherhood, marriage, and vocation. Those who've followed their intuition and taken a risk despite facts and logic will find themselves validated in these pages. Those considering such a leap will find encouragement in Bauermeister's example. And anyone who has undergone even a minor home remodel will find a friend to commiserate with in House Lessons. A beautifully written, heartfelt and entertaining account of everything that can and did go wrong in the process of making things right,
July 9, 2021
A thoughtful memoir about renovating a house and pondering how the architecture of our homes and landscapes and possessions influence our relationships and personalities.
July 12, 2020
I enjoyed this book. I love reading about architecture and people's homes in general, but this was someone's individual story and I found it much more interesting.
The author and husband returned from a year in Italy and she almost immediately felt that they were sliding back into the grind of American life. Longing to find a home for the family where they could reconnect, they eventually purchase a truly run-down house whose owner - an extreme hoarder - recently died. This book is the story of how they renovated it and made it their own. It's also the story of their family spending time together as it all happened. The writing is good and there are many times when you think they might just give up or go broke, but eventually the house is just as they want it to be.
Of course, this is yet another book written by someone who is financially well off enough to do all of this, but I guess there wouldn't be a book if they had not been able to afford to complete the project or even start it in the first place. The descriptive prose is wonderful, and I have to say that once I finished the book, I looked on Google for a photo of the house - it looked almost exactly has I had imagined from reading the book!
If you enjoy house stories, if you enjoy learning how people came and went and came back again to the writing life, and if you enjoy reading about families who end up happy and reconnected, I think you will enjoy this book.
The author and husband returned from a year in Italy and she almost immediately felt that they were sliding back into the grind of American life. Longing to find a home for the family where they could reconnect, they eventually purchase a truly run-down house whose owner - an extreme hoarder - recently died. This book is the story of how they renovated it and made it their own. It's also the story of their family spending time together as it all happened. The writing is good and there are many times when you think they might just give up or go broke, but eventually the house is just as they want it to be.
Of course, this is yet another book written by someone who is financially well off enough to do all of this, but I guess there wouldn't be a book if they had not been able to afford to complete the project or even start it in the first place. The descriptive prose is wonderful, and I have to say that once I finished the book, I looked on Google for a photo of the house - it looked almost exactly has I had imagined from reading the book!
If you enjoy house stories, if you enjoy learning how people came and went and came back again to the writing life, and if you enjoy reading about families who end up happy and reconnected, I think you will enjoy this book.
July 25, 2020
HOUSE LESSONS: Renovating a Life by Erica Bauermeister ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This memoir first piqued my interest by being set in Port Townsend, WA where my hubby and I moved after becoming empty nesters in 2000 and lived until late 2012. I thought I was going to be interested just due to the setting. But it’s much more than a story about quirky Port Townsend or even house renovation. It became as much a treatise on family and marriage. Bauermeister titles each chapter fittingly, using them as a metaphor for life, not just house hunting, building materials, or parts of the home. She includes a bit of architectural history in each chapter, which I found fascinating. I kept looking for familiar names and places and found some including mention of a book by the late Murray Morgan, father of my high school BFF and my beloved Aldrich’s Market. Port Townsend is a small place and with my involvement in the community as well as working at the local hospital, none of the people mentioned were familiar. It wasn’t until I read the acknowledgments that I found she’d changed the names. It was a poignant read for me as well. I lost my husband of 25 years in 2017 and we had so many lovely memories in Port Townsend. All in all House Lessons, despite tears I shed while reading, is a book I very highly recommend.
April 8, 2020
In this smart, witty, and thoughtful memoir, Erica Bauermeister reveals intimate details about her tumultuous, love-at-first-sight relationship with a dilapidated Edwardian house. But House Lessons isn’t about real estate. Through the ups and downs of nearly 20 years of renovation, Baumeister’s story is told through the lens of desire: her dream for her beloved family, her passion as a writer, and her drive to transform herself. She does end up changed, but in ways she did not expect. And her love for detail (the history of plaster, superstitions surrounding foundations, the etymological origins of “housewife�) invites the reader into what it means “to dwell.� As she says, “This is the beauty, the power, of architecture—it exists both outside and inside of us, a dance between structure and self.� A true delight!
March 24, 2020
House Lessons is a heartwarming story about a delapitated house the author and her family purchased in Port Townsend, Washington. She detailed their adventures with the home. From trying to purchase the home , to the chore of cleaning out the junk, to the pitfalls and delights of renovation. The author correlated the different phases of the house project with other aspects of her life. Finally, they were able to move into the house, years after it was ready. The part I liked was the emotion she injected into the house, bringing it back to life, happy to have a family residing in it once again. Thanks to NetGalley and Sasquatch Books for the advance read.
June 1, 2020
Simply lovely. Told as only Erica Bauermeister can, the story of renovating a house becomes the story of renovating a life. I loved her honesty about herself and her relationships, and I appreciate her wisdom more than I can say. This book came out right when I needed it. Funny thing is, I didn't know I would need it on the day I ordered it, which was before my husband suddenly approached me about buying another house...and selling the one I already love. But I believe, as Bauermeister does, that there is something to be said for timing and sometimes things happen for a reason.
August 23, 2022
I loved this book! As a writer myself who writes frequently about architecture and design, I figured this would be right up my alley (I’ve also read several of the author’s other works which I had enjoyed). Interestingly, I picked up a copy of this while in Port Townsend, not knowing that’s where the author was writing about. It was so much more though than just an account of her family’s salvaging of an abandoned home. Reflections on what home means in general, on marriage, parenting, being a writer and more. Highly recommended!
January 3, 2020
A beautiful memoir of saving and rehabbing a shambling old hoarder's house in the picturesque Pacific Northwest. Through the lenses of landscape and architecture, history and family, Erica Bauermeister examines what makes a house a home, and how a family survives among wreckage and beauty, duty and love. Usually a writer of lyrical fiction (The School of Essential Ingredients, The Scent Keeper) her beautiful, incisive use of language is pure joy.
January 3, 2020
Great book. Bauermeister does a fabulous job of blending personal narrative with an academic curiosity about place and home and much more. Read it and you'll be entertained and informed and moved. Highly recommend!
July 6, 2024
I listened to this one chapter at a time and I loved it from start to finish. The author and her husband buy a home in serious disrepair and she details their road to renovating it over the course of many years. My husband and I are one year into remodeling our own home, and I felt kinship with the author in some instances and shock at some of their financial decisions in others. I particularly loved the history of houses and rooms she included.
Audio Notes: I listened to this one over a long time, one commute at a time. But not on consecutive days. That's what I loved about the book's structure-it was a perfect read to tackle in bits here and there. Different chapters dealt with different parts of a house/home, and I enjoyed the way the author broke down her story tremendously. The narrator had a great tone for narrating, and listening just felt soothing and conversational to me. I loved it.
Title: House Lessons by Erica Bauermeister
Narrator: Tavia Gilbert
Length: 6 hours, 28 minutes, Unabridged
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Audio Notes: I listened to this one over a long time, one commute at a time. But not on consecutive days. That's what I loved about the book's structure-it was a perfect read to tackle in bits here and there. Different chapters dealt with different parts of a house/home, and I enjoyed the way the author broke down her story tremendously. The narrator had a great tone for narrating, and listening just felt soothing and conversational to me. I loved it.
Title: House Lessons by Erica Bauermeister
Narrator: Tavia Gilbert
Length: 6 hours, 28 minutes, Unabridged
Publisher: Tantor Audio
February 8, 2023
I read this very quickly and I believe I timed my reading perfectly as well. The idea of homes and houses has been on my mind recently so I grabbed this on the recommendation of a good friend. It was a balm for my soul. The idea of moving from my first house, a sanctuary I was able to build for myself, has been weighing heavily, and this memoir really eased some of my fears.
This is not an in depth renovation story, though that is the framework that the memoir is built around. The style is lyrical, real, and a bit wistful, which fits the house and the story being told.
This is not an in depth renovation story, though that is the framework that the memoir is built around. The style is lyrical, real, and a bit wistful, which fits the house and the story being told.
December 6, 2024
*audiobook
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