The Way of the Hermit

My Incredible 40 Years Living in the Wilderness

By: Ken Smith, Will Millard

Narrated by: Dean Williamson

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

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 life 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.

©2024 Ken Smith (P)2024 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited

Author is a great story teller…and hermits have a lot of wisdom to share!

Really enjoyed listening to Ken Smith, recount his stories growing up, as a young adult, his traumatic experiences that he survived, and then his 40 years living off of the woods and lakes in Canada, Alaska, and mostly in Scotland. I learned a lot of practical as well as philosophical knowledge from listening to this author, I also enjoyed his stories which not being a hermit, I’ll probably never experience firsthand myself. After reading his book, as attractive as his life sounds, now I don’t need to live it. I hope I can live some of the wisdom that Kim Smith imparts to his readers.

Living life his way.

Loved it all. The reader was perfect and brought the book to life. Thank you

What a life, what a story!

Loved having the opportunity to listen to Ken Smiths remarkable life story. Inspiration to “go, and do it now”

Do it now

Compelling story and so many lessons for us all. Thank you Ken for caring enough about us non-hermits to share the essence of what it means to live a life to its fullest and the importance of creating more than we consume. I now know why my heart aches to be back home in Scotland, midges and all.