What strikes the author most is the uncertainty and flux of their lives as they and their circle improvised their way through the confusion of French, Spanish and British jurisdictions in the West Indies and America, and through the creeping, morphing status of the British in India.

ECONOMIST: Retracing the steps of one 18th-century Scottish family

Matt Uppenbrink, 44, a former businessman in the fashion world who now lives at Fellowship with his wife and two children, is on the community's "financial circle" but also does his bit in the adult home.

WSJ: For the aging, a commune-like alternative in NY