Jeff: I can see where you are coming from, I have been there, sometimes I think I am still there. And you are right, it's so much more frustrating than other people can understand, not having been there. Without money you can't change things, without changing things there is no money. Without good social skills you can't ask people if you can put a garden in their yard too. Seems like there's no way out.
I think you might like the PEP/Skip exercises, they will lead you to you learn new things, and maybe you will see a niche you have not considered that you can do with what you have access to. You say tools rust in and wood rots in Florida, yes, it does. Perhaps you can use that same drive to do something that doesn't require items that rot or rust. The thing you might get from the PEP/Skip exercises is a different way of thinking about things, and it might be enough to help you figure out how to change what you can.
Look at the SKIP forum,
https://permies.com/c/skip and read through a bunch of it all. See what you might be interested in, what you might want to learn more about, use it as an index of things to consider learning about. Or things to absolutely rule out. If you see something worth considering, find it on the forums here (bottom brown button on the left is "All forums" look at it) and learn more.
I have made good money in the past by using my OCD to focus on the things I do to make me very effective. It can be focused on anything. See if you can find something to focus it on that can be done within the current parameters of your life.
As far as if the book is worth it, I'd say start here, reading as much as you can here, I think you are not the kind of person who will go on a normal path through it all, there's more versatility in the website for non-standard people. And you are not standard, and that's an asset. Now to find out how some other things you can focus on.
Best of luck to you, I hope you find a niche you can thrive in.
