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Six Walks

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What to expect

On an autumn morning in 1849, Henry David Thoreau stepped out his front door to walk the beaches of Cape Cod. Over a century and a half later, Ben Shattuck does the same. With little more than a loaf of bread, brick of cheese, and a notebook, Shattuck sets out to retrace Thoreau’s path through the Cape’s outer beaches, from the elbow to Provincetown’s fingertip.

This is the first of six journeys taken by Shattuck, each one inspired by a walk once taken by Henry David Thoreau. After the Cape, Shattuck goes up Mount Katahdin and Mount Wachusett, down the coastline of his hometown, and then through the Allagash. Along the way, Shattuck encounters unexpected characters, landscapes, and stories, seeing for himself the restorative effects that walking can have on a dampened spirit. Over years of following Thoreau, Shattuck finds himself uncovering new insights about family, love, friendship, and fatherhood, and understanding more deeply the lessons walking can offer through life’s changing seasons.

Intimate, entertaining, and beautifully crafted, Six Walks is a resounding tribute to the ways walking in nature can inspire us all.

Critics Review

“The author’s comedic talents are formidable, and the characters he creates are hard to forget.”

Wall Street Journal

“A poignant tribute to nature.”

Town & Country magazine

“Part of the fun in Six Walks is how today’s reality―and Shattuck’s sense of humor―take over.”

Boston Globe

“A joy to read.”

Provincetown Magazine

“A love letter to New England’s natural world and the timeless revelations that walking in nature gives to us.”

Arkansas International

“Six Walks witnesses how, in every season, choosing to step into the natural world can lead to healing and peace.”

Chicago Review of Books

“This is a book for learning the spiritual practices of attention and wonder from a master teacher―both Thoreau, and his student, Shattuck.”

Spirituality & Practice

“I think Thoreau would have liked this book, and that’s a high recommendation.”

Bill McKibben, New York Times bestselling author

“A gorgeous reminder that walking is the most radical form of locomotion nowadays.”

Nick Offerman, New York Times bestselling author
Author Ben Shattuck
Narrator Jonathan Todd Ross
Duration 5 hours and 26 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9798200996520
Format Audiobook
Publisher Blackstone Publishing
Genre Travel writing
Availability US

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