What happens when you turn off the internet for a year? That’s what author Esther Emery wanted to find out a few years ago when she cut the cord to all electronic devices.
Emery and her husband lived in Idaho, met in the Panhandle, and later moved to southern California. She had a successful career. But marital infidelity, giving up her job to become a stay at home mom and a sudden move to the east coast rocked her life.
She found her video screens became an addiction.
“I was turning to my screens 24 hours a day and even at any moment I would wake up during the night I would reach for a screen almost as a security blanket to make sure I had some kind of connection with the outside world,” says Emery.
She decided, on a whim, to cut off the internet. And give up her cell phone. And her credit cards. For an entire year.
She eventually came back to Idaho and wrote a book about the experience, called “What Falls from the Sky.” In it, she talks about finding peace, rebuilding her marriage and reconnecting with her religion.
Author Esther Emery, her husband and her three kids now live off the grid in a cabin outside of Boise. They made a Vlog of their visit to Boise State Public Radio, you can see it here.
Find Samantha Wright on Twitter @samwrightradio
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