Cabin: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars | 755 ratings

Price: 13.12

Last update: 03-30-2025


About this item

This program is read by the author.

A memoir of the author's journey from an office job to restoring a cabin in the Pacific Northwest, based on his wildly popular Outside Magazine piece.

Wit’s End isn’t just a state of mind. It’s the name of a gravel road, the address of a rundown, off-the-grid cabin, 120 shabby square feet of fixer-upper Patrick Hutchison purchased on a whim in the mossy woods of the Cascade Mountains in Washington state.

To say Hutchison didn’t know what he was getting into is no more an exaggeration than to say he’s a man with nearly zero carpentry skills. Well, used to be. You can learn a lot over six years of renovations.

CABIN is the story of those renovations, but it's also a love story; of a place, of possibilities, and of the process of construction, of seeing what could be instead of what is. It is an audiobook for those who know what it’s like to bite off more than you can chew, or who desperately wish to.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.


Top reviews from the United States

  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing as the smell of pine woods!
    Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2025
    The author's use of figurative language, sensory detail and humorous detail made this the most enjoyable book of 2024. I definitely look forward his future endeavors. Keep writing and building.
  • susan
    4.0 out of 5 stars Life Lessons learned while taking a Tiny Home from dump to snuggle-nest.
    Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2024
    Hutchison is great at telling a good tale that's pithy, full of humanity, humor and lots of "growing up" wisdom. As he slogs through the sticky mud of life and Wit's End cabin-rehab, Hutchison learns more about the value of friendships, neighborliness, and getting away from the boring realities of real-life on the weekends. No surprise that he ends up leaving the dreary career of copywriting to build Tiny Hones for other peace-seekers in the wilds of Washington. We all find our way in life by breaking free of things that tether us to the mundane. Hutchison does this with humor amid the many mistakes of trial-and-error tool wielding. Loved this book. A very good read.
  • Jimi V
    5.0 out of 5 stars Easy and enjoyable read
    Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2024
    I read a fun article in the Wall Street Journal that had excerpts of the authors prior articles on the topic and really enjoyed his story. This book was a great way to learn more about his journey and vicariously live the cabin life through his words. If you’ve read some of the authors other articles and like them, you’ll like this book.
  • KRISTEN
    5.0 out of 5 stars the life cycle of a cabin
    Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2025
    An adorable quick read about a man’s love for nature and rediscovering passion. I tore through this in just a few days. I hoped with each chapter that he’d keep fixing and working on the next project. I genuinely yelled Wahoo!! When he patched the roof leak.
  • Joel P.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended
    Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2024
    Excellently written. Humorous and engaging; you feel like you are part of the adventure.
  • Sharon Wedam
    3.0 out of 5 stars Well Written
    Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2025
    Well written but concerned about constant reference to beer and whiskey and did we need whole chapter on author's experience with psychedelic mushrooms?
  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great read
    Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2024
    This is such a pleasant and inspiring book. You’ll wonder if you should get yourself a cabin and just deal with the repairs as you go. 4 stars because frankly the quality of the paper the pages are printed on is not good. It’s like that kindergarten paper with chunks of wood in it. :/
  • AnnE
    5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and nostalgic.
    Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2025
    Great read on a snowy weekend. I did something similar to this with a 150 year old farm house while my wife and growing lived in it. This brought tears from both nostalgic memories and laughing.

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