Episode 39: Ben Shattuck on Thoreau

170-plus years ago, Henry David Thoreau began his legendary hermit walks in New England. Thoreau published many of his most cherished works as a naturalist about some of these walks: Walden, The Maine Woods, and Cape Cod. Artist, writer, and New England native Ben Shattuck does his own walking in Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau, (Tin House Books, 2022), which charts six journeys undertaken by Shattuck, each one inspired by a walk once taken by Thoreau. With little more than a loaf of bread, a 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. After the Cape, Shattuck walks down the coastline of his hometown, and then through the Allagash. Along the way, he encounters unexpected characters, landscapes, and stories, seeing for himself the restorative effects that walking can have on a dampened spirit. 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. Shattuck splits his time between Los Angeles and Coastal Massachusetts, where he also runs Davoll’s General Store in Dartmouth. We caught up during the Spring to discuss his first book, Thoreau and the therapeutic nature of walking.