Letter from the editor.

My husband, Adam, and I have been married for over twelve years, and we've been living in tiny places since we met. We started in a dorm room, then renting rooms in other people's houses, a 400-square-foot apartment, and the latest, a yurt on our own land for the past five and a half years.

The very first issue of New Life Journal that I produced-was in the corner of a room we rented. It was 1999. I was 26 and in a long recovery from years of debilitating environmental illness and chemical sensitivities. I was beginning to come out of my shell and stop thinking of myself as an invalid. The history: After being sick for so long and frustrating conventional medical doctors with my unsolvable symptoms, I finally gave up after seeing eleven MDs in six months and being told I had a myriad of completely different conditions and put on a cocktail of expensive medications. I went to the chiropractor that three friends had told me about who I was sure was a quack. After a year of working with him and watching my symptoms improve daily, I became quite an activist about organic food, holistic therapies, and cleaning up my living environment to breathe cleaner air. I became a nutritional counselor and assistant in his practice and later worked for a groundbreaking homeopath to find out all I could about natural healing.

One day, I told Adam, "There are so many great practitioners in town and so many issues like genetic engineering that people don't understand but want to find out about. If I had a publication, I'd offer space for practitioners to tell people about their therapies. I'd write articles about the pros and cons of genetic engineering of food. I'd have recipes and practical information that people could actually use. l would get the word out!" Adam looked up at me from chopping vegetables at the counter. "Well, why don't you do it?" I designed the website before the weekend was done and I called a bunch of great people I knew to pay for ads in exchange for booth space at an impromptu Healthy Home Show that I put together at Earth Fare. I had $500, so I paid for printing 5,000 copies and did the sales, editing and writing, layout, and distribution myself with Adam's help. The rest is history.

That very first issue over seven years ago focused on "The Healthy Home." Its twelve pages were packed with important information on electromagnetic field research, mold, nontoxic paints and finishes, healthy heating systems. This months sustainable building issue is a little different, with many articles showcasing houses that builders and designers show with pride as their definition of sustainable building.

Adam and I are putting the finishing touches on our own pride and joy: a sweet and sustainable house perched on a four-wheel-drive mountain just north of Asheville, NC that both of us (and our architect, builder, and contractor helpers) have sunk lots of sweat and love into. Its small frame contains our dreams and the promise of a better life (and more space!). As you read this issue, perhaps you'll see the house of your dreams in its pages. Look forward to future issues, where we'll be including expanded information on renewable energy, efficiency, natural interiors, indoor air quality, and more. Email me and let me know what you think of this issue and what you'd like to see more of in the future: [e-mail]

I offer my thanks to all the great people who have put their good work into our house. Thanks to Mark Applegate, Chris Rogers, Beech Barrett, Home Energy Partners, Greg McGuffey of Earthtone Builders, MP Electric, Travis Embler and his sheetrock crew, Jim Jones Plumbing, Appropriate Building Solutions, Showcase Exteriors, Pure Life Inc., Dry Ridge Roofing, Cindy Meehan-Patton, Teshin, Mary Long, and Black Mountain Stove, among others. The advertisers, writers, workers and employees, and readers of New Life Journal have helped us build our dream, so thank you for your support for seven great years so far!

Erin Everett

Editor/Publisher

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