Author Ann Patchett's Year Of No Shopping

Published January 3, 2018 at 10:00 AM CST

Customers wrap up their holiday shopping during Walmart's Black Friday events on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2014 in Bentonville, Ark. Deep savings continue at Walmart Friday though Cyber Monday as part of five days of events in stores and online. (Photo by Gunnar Rathbun/Invision for Walmart/AP Images)

Rethinking what we need versus what we want. Author Ann Patchett took up the challenge.

This show airs Wednesday at 11 a.m. EST.

Guests:

Ann Patchett, author of seven novels and three works of non-fiction, co-owner of Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee.

Elissa Kim, didn’t shop for a year after taking a trip to India. She inspired her friend Ann Patchett to embark on “year of no shopping.”

Tim Kasser, professor and chair of psychology at Knox College who wrote the forthcoming book “ Hypercapitalism: The Modern Economy, Its Values, And How To Change Them.”

From The Reading List:

New York Times: My Year Of No Shopping — “The idea began in February 2009 over lunch with my friend Elissa, someone I like but rarely see. She walked into the restaurant wearing a fitted black coat with a high collar.

‘Wow,’ I said admiringly. ‘Some coat.’

She stroked the sleeve. ‘Yeah. I bought it at the end of my no-shopping year. I still feel a little bad about it.’

Elissa told me the story: After traveling for much of the previous year, she had decided she had enough stuff, or too much stuff. She made a pledge that for 12 months she wouldn’t buy shoes, clothes, purses or jewelry.”

After the holidays, you may be drowning in presents: new clothes, new electronics, new toys of all kinds. And looking at your credit card bill, thinking: what have I done? Maybe it’s time to read author Ann Patchett’s new essay titled “My Year of No Shopping.” For 12 months, she avoided all frivolous spending – not easy in our highly consumer culture. This hour, On Point: breaking the shopping habit and improving your life in the process. — Sacha Pfeiffer