When you’re serious about preparedness, few books spark as much debate — and as much careful thought — as Joel M. Skousen’s Strategic Relocation: North American Guide to Safe Places. This isn’t your typical “grab your bug-out bag and head for the hills” manual — this is a 400+ page deep-dive into where to live, why it matters, and what threats you need to plan around if you want to stand a chance when the world goes sideways.

As a prepper and homesteader, I came to this book looking for practical, realistic guidance on where to plant roots, not just fantasy scenarios. I wanted real-world analysis, actionable advice, and ideally, some fresh perspectives I hadn’t considered yet. Skousen delivers plenty — but he also throws in ideas that stretch even the most flexible imagination.

What’s Realistic

1. Hard Data on States and Regions
Skousen’s state-by-state (and province-by-province) breakdown is the bread and butter of this book. He grades areas on factors like population density, gun laws, government reach, climate, natural disaster risk, and proximity to military targets. For example, he explains why the Intermountain West — think Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah — remains a top choice for serious retreat-minded preppers.

These risk maps and region summaries are worth their weight in gold if you’re looking to move or even just understand the big picture. He doesn’t sugarcoat — if your state is a lost cause, he’ll tell you outright.

2. Urban vs Rural Realities
One thing Skousen gets absolutely right: if you stay in or near major population centers, you’re gambling with your survival in any grid-down or conflict scenario. He reinforces the hard truth that the farther you are from desperate masses, the better your odds — provided you can still access food, water, and community.

3. Practical Threat Assessment
He covers more than just natural disasters. From EMP strikes and nuclear fallout to economic collapse and civil unrest, he gives realistic scenarios and how they shape your ideal relocation zone. Even if you don’t buy every single threat, it’s valuable mental exercise.

What’s Out-of-the-Box

1. The Bunker Culture
Skousen is known for championing high-end hardened shelters — hidden bunkers, blast doors, deep-earth shelters, the whole nine yards. For most preppers, building a full-scale underground fortress is a pipe dream. But he makes a good case that if you can afford it — or if you’re designing a new homestead — you should at least incorporate hardened features for fallout or intrusion scenarios.

It’s a push toward “old-school Civil Defense on steroids,” and while most of us won’t be pouring reinforced concrete anytime soon, it can inspire you to think beyond the basic root cellar and safe room.

2. Geo-Political Hotspot Analysis
He doesn’t just tell you where to go — he tells you how global politics might change the risk map. For example, he speculates about possible foreign invasions, nuclear targets, and government crackdowns. Some find it far-fetched; others see it as next-level foresight. Whether you agree or not, the point is to get you thinking wider than tornadoes and ice storms.

3. Community Over Isolation
One insight I appreciate: Skousen cautions that a lone bunker is not enough — community ties matter. He urges you to find or build like-minded communities in safe areas, with mutual aid and defense in mind. This is crucial advice that too many preppers overlook while stockpiling beans and bullets alone.

How Practical Is It — Really?

If you’re a suburban prepper who can’t just up and move to Idaho tomorrow, Strategic Relocation might feel overwhelming. But even if you never relocate, this book helps you see your current area through a new lens — where your weaknesses are, what exit routes you have, and how to plan a fallback retreat if you ever need to.

It’s not perfect — some maps are dated, the focus is mostly U.S./Canada-centric, and the bunker mindset can feel extreme — but for preppers who want to think strategically, not just tactically, this book is unmatched.

Final Verdict

Strategic Relocation is not a feel-good read — it’s a wake-up call and a blueprint.
It’s part practical guide, part cautionary tale, and part push to think beyond the mainstream prepper checklist. If you want to move from “two weeks of extra groceries” to “where will I rebuild my life when the grid goes down,” this book is for you.

Read it with an open mind, a highlighter, and your maps out. Take what’s realistic, adapt what you can, and leave what doesn’t fit your situation — but don’t ignore it altogether.

Prepper’s Rating: 8.5/10

An indispensable resource for serious relocation planning, with enough practical info to be useful — and enough bold thinking to push you out of your comfort zone.

Strategic Relocation, North American Guide to Safe Places, Fourth Edition

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Disclosure: Preppers Voice is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.

When it comes to planning for the uncertain future—whether it’s an economic collapse, civil unrest, or a long-term grid-down scenario—having a bug-out bag isn’t enough. You need a place to go, and more importantly, a plan to stay there. Prepper’s Survival Retreats by Charley Hogwood isn’t just another book on bug-out shelters or temporary hideaways. It’s a comprehensive guide to building a real, sustainable retreat—a place you can thrive, not just survive.

A Book Written for Serious Preppers

As a long-time prepper and homesteader, I found Hogwood’s approach both realistic and deeply practical. This isn’t a fantasy-laden survivalist guide filled with Mad Max scenarios or unrealistic bunker blueprints. Instead, it’s grounded in real-world logistics, community planning, and long-term survivability. If you’re someone who has considered going off-grid, relocating to a rural homestead, or preparing for a WROL (Without Rule of Law) scenario, this book will speak your language.

What Makes It Stand Out

One of the strongest parts of the book is site selection. Hogwood walks you through what to look for in a retreat property—from water access and defensibility to soil fertility and even community values. Too many prepping books gloss over these hard truths, but not this one.

He also emphasizes networking, security planning, and redundancy—pillars of long-term survival that too many people ignore. The chapter on how to vet people for your retreat group was especially valuable. In an SHTF situation, your survival may depend on who you let in the gate.

Off-Grid Living and Homesteading Relevance

If you’re a homesteader or aspiring off-gridder, this book still delivers. Hogwood dives into systems for renewable energy, food preservation, animal husbandry, water filtration, and gardening. Even if the world doesn’t fall apart, these chapters are pure gold for anyone trying to gain independence from modern infrastructure.

It’s also a reminder that resilience isn’t just about stockpiles—it’s about skills, systems, and strategy. Whether you’re building your own retreat now, or just in the planning phase, Hogwood gives you a framework to do it right.

What Could Be Better

If there’s a critique, it’s that the book leans a bit toward the community/group retreat model. While this is absolutely valid—and arguably more sustainable long-term—solo or family-based preppers may need to adapt some of the advice to fit a smaller-scale plan. Still, the core principles apply.

A few diagrams or property layout examples would’ve been helpful, especially for visual learners. But what the book lacks in graphics, it makes up for in hard-earned experience and thoughtful detail.

Final Thoughts

Prepper’s Survival Retreats is more than a how-to—it’s a blueprint for self-reliance in a collapsing world. Whether you’re looking to bug out from a city or you’re already halfway to building your own retreat, this book offers the strategic mindset and practical guidance to help you get there.

Highly recommended for:

• Preppers serious about long-term survival
• Homesteaders planning for collapse or self-sufficiency
• Off-gridders building resilient, independent systems
• Anyone questioning how they’ll survive if the grid goes down for good
  

Summary 

If you are thinking of going off-grid or building a survival retreat? Prepper’s Survival Retreats by Charley Hogwood is a must-read for anyone serious about long-term preparedness. From site selection and security to food, water, and power systems, this guide helps preppers, homesteaders, and off-grid dreamers design and build a sustainable, defensible retreat that can outlast any disaster.

A must-read if you’re preparing not just to escape disaster—but to live free from it.

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Book Review: Built from Broken by Scott H Hogan

Reviewed by The Prepper’s Voice

In the world of preparedness, strength isn’t just measured by how much gear you can carry or how many supplies you’ve stockpiled—it’s measured by the resilience of your body and mind. Without a strong, pain-free, and functional body, all the prepping in the world won’t mean much. That’s why Built from Broken: A Science-Based Guide to Healing Painful Joints, Preventing Injuries, and Rebuilding Your Body by Scott H Hogan is one of the most essential health resources I’ve come across in years—and a must-read for anyone who considers physical capability as a pillar of preparedness.

Overview: A Blueprint for Physical Resilience

At its core, Built from Broken is about taking back control of your body—especially if you’ve been sidelined by joint pain, chronic injuries, or poor mobility. But Hogan doesn’t just offer surface-level advice. He digs into the real, often misunderstood, root causes of joint dysfunction and pain: muscle imbalances, poor movement patterns, and over-specialization in fitness routines that ignore foundational strength and mobility.

The book is structured in a logical progression that mirrors a true recovery and rebuilding process. Hogan begins by explaining why so many of us are dealing with chronic joint problems—think years of desk jobs, sitting, lack of strength training, or even “traditional” workouts that focus too much on the wrong movements. He then leads readers through actionable steps to correct those issues with an emphasis on:

• Muscle balancing

• Mobility restoration

• Proper strength training techniques

• Nutrition and recovery

• And most importantly—re-education of movement patterns

Science Meets Practicality

What makes Built from Broken stand out from the sea of fitness and rehab books is its foundation in evidence-based strategies. Hogan is not peddling gimmicks or trendy workouts. He provides clear, digestible explanations of complex topics like myofascial tension, neuromuscular activation, and tissue remodeling. Yet the writing never feels condescending or inaccessible to the average reader.

He breaks down the physiology of joints, tendons, and muscles in a way that connects the dots between pain, movement, and strength. If you’ve ever wondered why your shoulder clicks, your knees ache, or your back locks up during activity, this book will explain it—and then give you the tools to fix it.

For preppers, this isn’t just “nice to know.” It’s vital. A bug-out plan, homesteading labor, or defensive situation could quickly go south if your joints fail you. Hogan offers the preventative strategies to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Holistic Yet Grounded Approach

What really surprised me was the holistic lens Hogan applies to the healing process. While the foundation is physical (exercise, mobility, training), he also tackles:

• Stress and its impact on recovery

• Sleep optimization

• Nutrition for connective tissue repair

• The psychological toll of chronic pain

He doesn’t promise quick fixes, and that’s a good thing. Instead, Hogan emphasizes the long-game: sustainable change through rebuilding, not rushing or masking symptoms. That aligns perfectly with the prepper mindset—building durable systems and investing in resilience, not relying on brittle band-aid solutions.

What You’ll Get (and What You Won’t)

What you will get:

• A detailed, step-by-step plan to restore your body from chronic pain or dysfunction

• Clear guidance on functional strength and joint-specific rehab

• An emphasis on mobility, not just muscle size or “gains”

• Practical exercise routines that can be done at home or in minimal-space settings

• A no-nonsense, empowering tone that teaches you to take ownership of your body

What you won’t get:

• Quick fixes or “miracle” treatments

• Fluff or filler

• Overly complicated jargon without explanation

Final Thoughts: A Vital Resource for Every Self-Reliant Individual

In my view, Built from Broken is more than a fitness book—it’s a manual for physical self-reliance. Whether you’re dealing with nagging injuries, chronic joint pain, or you simply want to bulletproof your body for the demands of a resilient lifestyle, this book delivers.

For those of us in the preparedness community, this isn’t optional reading—it’s essential. A body that can’t move, lift, carry, run, or adapt is a liability. Hogan’s message is clear: pain is not your destiny. With effort, education, and consistency, you can rebuild.

And that, my friends, is exactly what preparedness is all about—taking responsibility, staying ahead of problems, and building systems that work when things go wrong.

Highly recommended. 9.5/10.

Have you read Built from Broken? Have questions about joint health or recovery as a prepper? Drop a comment below—let’s get the conversation going.

Stay strong, stay ready.
– The Prepper’s Voice

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