Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau

by Ben Shattuck

Exploring New England’s varied terrain, Ben Shattuck retraces six of Henry David Thoreau’s iconic walks in this moving, tender, and at times humorous exploration of place and recovery. Reeling from a bad romantic breakup, Shattuck searches for peace and healing by putting himself on the move. Up Mount Katahdin. Along the Allagash River. On the sands of the Cape Cod National Seashore. Along the way, he finds solace and a welcome new chapter that will surely inspire any reader to slip on their walking shoes.

—Ian Aldrich, Yankee executive editor

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.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tin House Books
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 19, 2022
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 12 years and up
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.2 x 1 x 8.1 inches