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Way of the Hermit: My Incredible 40 Years Living in the Wilderness (Original)
Way of the Hermit: My Incredible 40 Years Living in the Wilderness (Original) | Ken Smith
9 posts | 3 read | 1 to read
*INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER*Subconsciously, I pressed myself into the loch's banks as that summer inched forward. We'd got off to a rocky beginning, but I started to see Treig in a different way. There was something about this land that told me just to hold on a while longer. It might've been just a whisper at the time, but I knew it was definitely worth heeding. I just knew that was it. This was the place.Seventy-four-year-old Ken Smith has spent the past four decades in the Scottish Highlands. His home is a log cabin nestled near Loch Treig, known as "the lonely loch," where he lives off the land. He fishes for his supper, chops his own wood and even brews his own tipple. He is, in the truest sense of the word, a hermit.From his working-class origins in Derbyshire, Ken always sensed that there was more ot life than an empty nine to five. Then one day in 1974, an attack from a group of drunken men left him for dead. Determined to change his prospects, Ken quit his job and spent his formative years traveling in the Yukon. It was here, in the vast wilderness of northwestern Canada, that he honed his survival skills and grew closer to nature. Returning to Britain, he continued his nomadic lifestyle, wandering north and living in huts until he finally reached Loch Treig. Ken decided to lay his roots amongst the dense woodland and Highland air, and has lived there ever since.In The Way of the Hermit, Ken shares the remarkable story of his lfe for the very first time. Told with humor and compassion, his unique insights allow us to glimpse the awe and wonder of a life lived in nature and offer wisdom on how each of us can escape the pressures and stresses of modern life.
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Robotswithpersonality
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A bit more of a guide than a memoir, you get a more straightforward introduction to Smith's early years, a brief account of his journeys in the wilderness, primarily in Canada (felt ridiculously proud of his admiring descriptions of BC), prior to settling in one wood. But the story of his time at Loch Treig is divided more along the lines of what is essential to think about/know/do if you contemplate this lifestyle, especially in the Scottish 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? Scottish Highlands. The way of the hermit, indeed.
I love that what shines through clearest in all of his advice and reminiscences is strongly valuing kindness, generosity, and conservation. Much as he may have found more peace without the crush of an urban population, he is quick to acknowledge all those people who have helped him along his way.
2w
Robotswithpersonality 3/? That gratitude extends to the land he's lived on, it's beauty and bounty, and a consistent, conscientious, somewhat mournful focus on the need to tread lightly, the ways the local climate, ecosystem has changed linked to an understanding of this being a microcosm of the larger environmental concerns of today.
2w
Robotswithpersonality 4/? There's a bit of 'old man yells at cloud' in his perspective, unable to reconcile the idea that people might enjoy a city life or a desk job, and as passionate as he is in championing nature, I do wish he seemed more optimistic about rewilding efforts in the U.K. Especially as you see him move from a ghillie aiding in deer stalking (aka helping people hunt deer on the estate because indigenous predators have been wiped out, 2w
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Robotswithpersonality 5/? and population control of deer is necessary to maintain the health of the local ecosystem) to someone who is relieved his advancing age removes him from those staff who have to kill the animals - though he laments that he can no longer fish in the loch, as it is now experiencing it's own population concerns.
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Robotswithpersonality 6/? There are sections of the book that I wish had gone into more detail, where we might have gained a bit more of his inner thoughts/life than a description of events, but the book at this size does make better odds that more people will pick it up. I do also wonder, now that I know there was a documentary, The Hermit of Treig, about this man that pre-dates, indeed partially inspired this book, if that might cover his life in a different way. 2w
Robotswithpersonality 7/? Overall, I think you can take inspiration from the way he's lived his life, without, as he himself states, going as far as he did. He does acknowledge when his life choices were risky, but urges and exemplifies caution a great deal more. Nevertheless, his scale of toughness means the average reader will probably be a little stunned at what he occasionally shrugs off. 2w
Robotswithpersonality 8/? There is humour and humility and resilience. A good read physically or on audio.
Definitely a collaborative effort, as Smith had Millard's assistance in writing the book, and Dean Williamson narrates the audiobook. Unsure of the origins of the accent, but it works to tell this story. I should mention, there are differences between physical book and audio, I assume the audio is based off the UK written version, with a fair amount of local
2w
Robotswithpersonality 9/? parlance thrown in, and it's obvious the written version I've got has been revised to substitute more North American synonyms. I found the foreign slang utterly charming, while also being grateful for a reference with more familiar terms to translate. ☺️ Can highly recommend the tandem reading experience for my fellow North American readers.
2w
Robotswithpersonality 10/10 ⚠️Loss of parents, discussion of depression, animal death, mention of injury, suicide, cancer diagnosis and treatment 2w
13 likes9 comments
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Robotswithpersonality
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💅🏼 He's judging us. 😅

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Robotswithpersonality
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“You shouldn't feel self-conscious about saying kind words to anything.“ 🥰🌹

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Robotswithpersonality
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😌🍂❄️

Texreader ♥️ 🍁 🍂 2w
9 likes1 comment
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Robotswithpersonality
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...always new growth...

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Robotswithpersonality
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💚

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Robotswithpersonality
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Already in love with the writing.

review
Anna40
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Ken Smith chronicles his 40 years living off the grid first in Canada&Alaska then in Scotland where he worked as a gillie&built his own wood cabin on his employer‘s land.Will Millard wrote the memoir but it‘s based on Ken‘s diary&conversations with Ken,often excerpts of the diary are interspersed.Millard deftly captures Ken‘s voice.He comes across as a man of the highest integrity,kind&brave&most of all with a deep love of the wild&wildlife.

Anna40 Ken is a man I‘d love to drink a pint with or one of his cups of tea (he‘ll give you instructions on how to make the best brew if you read the book ;) ). I‘ll miss reading about him and “hearing” his voice. Highly recommend 10mo
Lcsmcat This sounds interesting! Stacked. 10mo
Anna40 @Lcsmcat I enjoyed reading it. Hope you like it too :) 10mo
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readswellwithothers
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November has been a huge reading slump for me! ☹️I‘ve tapped out on at least five books…some I‘ve gotten almost to the middle of before official DNF status. So, my trusty TBR Jar gave me the prompt “less than 1000 ratings on GR” and I chose this from my saved Hoopla titles. I enjoyed it! Soft pick, but still a pick and I actually finished it, which is a win. A good man‘s story of the hardships and joys of his self-appointed seclusion. 3.5⭐️