3.5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to MacMillan Audio ,#macaudio2024, and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this audiobook for my review.

I really enjoyed this one! I thought it was definitely an interesting insight to a topic I didn't know a lot about. It was fascinating to hear about the author's journey in redoing a cabin he had absolutely no experience in. I loved listening to the author talking about living in the Pacific Northwest. I have visited the PNW twice. I haven't lived there before but the way he describes it in the audiobook makes me want to visit the woods.

Narrator: This was narrated by the author and he did a great job of explaining everything. It felt like I was listening to a podcast.

As a fellow millennial, I connect to the author’s need to be something a bit more than corporate America can offer. Grasping at the odd chance that doing the unconventional becomes the adventure of a lifetime. This memoir follows the adventures of Patrick attempting to navigate wilderness with a few power tools and curiosity. I did struggle with the DIY struggle as the daughter of a home builder and this likely impacted my rating. I can’t help that I know what I know.

That being said, tandem reading the book with the audiobook helped to paint the picture much better. The audiobook has snippets of nature sounds that create an atmosphere. The story is narrated by the author allowing his personality to shine. He is also easily understood at faster speeds.

This book is exactly what the title says it is. It tells about the troubles, trials and fun of fixing up this cabin.

What worked for me:
- I felt like Patrick was very authentic and credible. I related to his feelings about what he wanted this cabin to be and do.
- loved his friends and the different adventures included in the book.
- loved the quirky little community that this cabin was located it and the quirky people he met.

What didn't work for me:
- Nothing.


4.5 stars rounded up

Patrick Hutchison’s *CABIN* is an engaging memoir chronicling his leap from office life to an ambitious journey of restoring a dilapidated 120-square-foot cabin in the Cascade Mountains. With humor and heart, Hutchison recounts the six years he spent transforming Wit’s End—both the cabin and himself. Despite having no carpentry skills at the start, his determination and love for the process shine through, making this more than a story about renovations; it’s a celebration of possibility and personal growth. Perfect for dreamers, doers, and anyone who’s ever dared to take on more than they could handle.

👉🏻 For my friends who want to buy and fix up a shack in the middle of nowhere, but only vicariously.

CABIN by Patrick Hutchison

🎧Thanks, @macmillan.audio, for the review copy of the audiobook. #MacAudio2024 (Available now) 8 Hours, 31 Minutes

I vividly recall my first encounter with a Saws-All (“the power tool equivalent of a loose firehose”). Our neighbor’s home flooded, and it was all hands on deck: yanking out furniture, pulling up the carpet, and cutting out Sheetrock. Someone handed me a Saws-All and told me to cut all around the house, four feet up. Note to self: Know where the electrical wires are before you hit them with a Saws-All.

Hutchison also learned many lessons the hard way when he bought a run-down, one-room “charming in a dystopian kind of way” cabin waaaaaay off the grid in the Washington woods. He bought tools as he needed them, learned how to make and repair things via YouTube, and hosted weekend “work parties,” enlisting the help of friends looking for camaraderie (and tetanus).

He finally succumbed to the siren call of the Saws-All, a tool whose “only purpose in life is to utterly destroy things while giving the operator the illusion of control.” He cleverly notes, “It’s what you would come up with if you were tasked with creating a new product that would ultimately be named “The Stabs-A-Bunch 9000.”

Hutchison’s memoir is an ode to celebrating your tribe, finding a defining project when your life seems adrift, and being willing to do things wrong, pull out the nails, and try again. It’s about building something that lasts and cultivating friendships that will last even longer. He’s funny, self-deprecating, clever, and reflective, and I loved every bit of his story.

“Building things slowed down time, translated efforts into results that reverberated for decades.”

🧽🧽🧽🧽🧽 The author’s delivery of the audiobook amplified my enjoyment, resulting in a #FiveSpongeAudiobook (so entertaining you’re willing to clean to keep listening). I immediately pre-ordered a copy for my brother.

I chose this in a whim based upon it’s title and description. It was a blast! Charming, soothing, and hilarious. It absorbed me, and I found myself right there at the cabin.

The audiobook was voiced by its author, Patrick Hutchison, and I think that was a wise choice. He brought well-earned character to the story. I had read the digital ARC about a month before accessing the audio. I actually preferred the audio. It was an immersive experience, subtlely including noises such as sawing and hammering which served to further draw me into his world.

This book came at a great time for me. I’ve felt restless and unrested. I’m missing nature, and the “old-fashioned” way of experiencing life in 3D rather than through a screen. Hutchison is a vivid writer, and it was a vacation to live vicariously through his cabin experience. I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent with this audiobook, and finished it within a day.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for granting access to a digital copy in response to my request.

Cabin by Patrick Hutchison, in which a charmingly idiotic millennial buys a janky off-grid cabin in the Cascades with a loan from his mom.

With the exception of a couple weird parts (the shrooms, the sound effects in the audiobook), I loved this memoir. Hutchison is earnest and reflective in describing fixing up the cabin during his limited time away from his desk job. He romanticizes even the spiders and outhouse bucket, but comes across as authentic. His value for being outdoors and out of reach of cell service totally aligns with mine.

Rather than having money or carpentry skills, Hutchison has optimism, tenacity, and resourcefulness, which makes for a more interesting story than someone properly using and explaining a plumb line. He calls his no-plan, no-measure carpentry “jazz.” The cabin is not about aesthetics, but about a journey with friends, which makes it feel cozy and beautiful, even if crooked.

This book is out today and perfect for cozy reading season or for gifting to your favorite dreamer.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio #MacAudio2024 for the advance copy of this audiobook

I mostly enjoyed this memoir about a man who buys a shack/cabin in the woods in Washington.

I've always been fond of books where people pull up roots and move to a farm or property and work to fix it up. I thought that's what this book would be about, and it somewhat is, but it isn't. Hutchison does buy a falling down cabin and through a comedy of errors and experiences manages to learn how to fix it up and eventually does. But he doesn't live there full time, and the more mundane and tedious parts of the book have him wishing he was at the cabin/unable to go to the cabin/working at his job so he can afford to work on the cabin but not wanting to be doing the job.

Some of this book also feel like an inside joke where the reader is on the outside looking in. The author and his friends had many experiences that were probably funny and meaningful to them, but I was mostly thinking I just didn't get it. Especially when he goes on a long long description of a mushroom trip (trips?) they took.

I listened to the audiobook which was well narrated by the author. I wonder if the actual book will have photos, which would go a long way towards making the entire narrative more relatable and understandable. If we had photos of the process and the end result we might be able to picture ourselves there with him.

I loved the Washington state setting, because I live here and know many of the places he mentions.

Overall, this was an interesting experience and I enjoyed living vicariously through his journey.

For anyone who has longed for or lived in a little cabin in the woods, this is a book for you.

It is the story of a forgotten and derelict shack that was transformed into a haven through persistence and rose colored glasses.

It is a tribute to hard work and how it changes us, the value of community, and the rewards of stepping outside comfort zones.

Cuddle up by warm fire (even if it’s only on a TV screen), and live the ups and downs of owning a little cabin in the woods.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook. The audiobook is enhanced by occasional nature sounds. It was lovely.

It's ok. There was nothing terrible about it but I was bored for most of it and didn't feel like there was really any purpose to the story. I think there will be a place for this one with younger white men who need an escape. I am not that demographic. Narration was fine.

A memoir of one man’s journey of restoring a run down off the grid cabin in the Pacific Northwest.

Seems pretty simple and not something that would make a binge worthy book, but that is just what I did! This was more than just a guy fixing tools, but really a journey of self discovery. Highlighting the benefits of really disconnecting, it is a love story where one partner is a run down cabin in the woods that just needed some attention and care. Hutchison did an amazing job at making the house a character, one that I truly cared about, connected with and worried about. This also reminded me of some of the people in my family that hunker down and figure it out. Highly recommend this and will be a great gift for any crafts person!

The book starts off strong- It was interesting listening to the author figure out to handle the various problems and fix up the cabin, but though it is full of fun dry humour , I found it became repetitive from time to time the further we got into the novel— it helped to have different friends come and help out with the fixer upper of a cabin — I listened to the audiobook and I liked the addition of sound effects and the author did a good job reading his book. This book is for those seeking solitude into nature and the guys adventures into rebuilding hobby/ adventures .

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this LRC. This is my honest review.

This is such a great story! You can tell the author truly finds himself in this cabin project and I felt a lot of connections in my own life “projects”. The audiobook was entertaining, had background noises to keep the reader entertained and the story made me chuckle a lot.

What happens when you are in a rut, dislike your job, and don't have much money? Apparently, you buy a run-down cabin in the woods! Hutchison purchased the cabin on a whim and commits to fixing it up, not fully realizing what kind of time, money, and skill this will take.

He put in the work and learned new skills. Most importantly, he found some peace and enjoyed unconnected, uncomplicated time with friends. He also found a new career!

I enjoy it when authors narrate their audiobooks; they can emphasize what they meant to, and it makes the story seem that much more personal. I liked Hutchison's writing, self-deprecating manner, and humor. This is a great read (or listen!) for anyone feeling stuck in life, or for those who enjoy spending time outdoors.

This book made me want to purchase a house in the middle of the woods! I think going into this I thought it would more about off the grid adventures and less about the restoration projects. Maybe that was me not completely reading the synopsis, so it could have been my fault not knowing what I was getting into. While it was really funny at times the detail of some of the renovations and projects kind of dragged on for me and i found myself not really caring. That also could be because I know nothing about carpentry and have zero interest. So again, maybe I should have known what I was getting into before requesting this one, because it just wasn't for me.