In Praise of Paths

Torbjørn Ekelund is a writer, author, and co-founder of Harvest, an online magazine documenting wilderness adventures, environmental issues, and our relationship with nature. He lives in Oslo, Norway.Geoff Nicholson is the author of multiple books including The Lost Art of Walking. His writings have appeared in the New York Times and the Guardian, amongst others, and he is a contributing editor to the Los Angeles Review of Books.

• Foreword by Geoff NicholsonThe beginningThe measure of all pathsPART IHumans have always wanderedHiking trailsThe trek over the high mountainPART IIThe path as I remember itInto the wildPART IIITracksMental detoursInner landscapesPART IVBack where I startedYou can’t walk the same path twiceDiscovery at the journey’s endOn writing this bookGratitudeNotesSources

“What [Ekelund]'s addressing is the intention to walk one’s way to meaning: the walk as spiritual exercise, a kind of vision quest in which the answers we arrive at are less important than the impulse to seek them.”—David Ulin, New York Times“A charming read, celebrating the relationship between humans and their bodies, their landscapes, and one another.”—Washington Post“This lovely book taps into something primeval in us all.”—Star Tribune“[R]ethinking the social, historical, and spiritual needs that are met by putting one foot in front of the other.”—Outside Magazine“[Urges] a return to our ambulatory origins…[N]ever low on zeal.”—Wall Street Journal“[Ekelund] invites his readers to join him on his chosen path, a path that involves regular walking with careful mindfulness. This is an invitation we should all accept.”—The Vancouver Sun“A deeply fascinating meditation on the paths we take through our environment and our lives.”— Erling Kagge, author of Silence: In the Age of Noise and Walking: One Step at a Time“A quiet, reflective read.”—Booklist“An easygoing, gently unfolding memoir, it soothes in difficult times.”—Gail Perry, Winnipeg Free Press