Memories of Life on an 'Atchafalaya Houseboat'
Gwen Roland writes about her life in the Louisiana swamp 30 years ago in Atchafalaya Houseboat. Brenda Fayard hide caption
Scroll down for an excerpt and to see photos of Roland's life in the Louisiana swamp.
In the 1970s, Gwen Carpenter Roland was about to start work on her doctorate when she decided instead to live off the land -- and water -- in the Atchafalaya River Basin Swamp in south-central Louisiana.
With a box of crayons and the book How to Build Your Home in the Woods, Roland and her then-partner, Calvin Voisin, built a houseboat on a barge. They lived there for six years, with no electricity and no running water.
Roland has written a book about the experience, Atchafalaya Houseboat: My Years in the Louisiana Swamp. She talks to Melissa Block about existence in the swamp -- the everyday routines and the unexpected pleasures -- and how she views that part of her life now.
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