53. The Way of the Hermit by Ken Smith with Will Millard

My sister had read this, I'm not sure why, and then recommended it to me, I'm also not sure why.  It's one of those books whose actual content is quite resonant and interesting while being written in a bit of a simplistic way.  This is fitting as Ken Smith, though obviously intelligent, did not go super far in his formal education.  I guess he was a bit of a known character in the town near the Scottish loch parkland where he lived in his little log cabin and eventually someone made a documentary about him.  This book followed.

It's basically a biography with the majority of the book focusing on his years in his one cabin.  Before that, he had grown up quite poor on a council estate with it seems always the desire to travel and get away from everybody on his own.  After some pretty cool-sounding free-flowing trips to Canada's north, he worked from time to time in construction back in England until he was attacked and badly injured by a bunch of skinheads.  England is so brutal.  Gangs of angry white guys just set upon people. It's weird.  Smith suffered a bad head injury.  He survived but it also made him realize that he did not want to not be the master of his own destiny.

After some tough years, he finally is given the right to live on this land, as long as he will work from time to time for the estate, as a "ghillie" which is like the hunter's equivalent of a caddy.  It's a highly-skilled position, requiring deep knowledge of the land and the behaviour of the animals, as well as tracking and hunting skill.  I wish we had a bit more about his work, as I am always into gamekeeping and associated activities.  He does go into great detail about how he built his home and garden, how he eats and keeps warm and the many hazards of living off the grid by himself.

He also shares the cool nature that he encounters, though balanced by a sober and saddening realization that it is changing and degrading with climate change and man's over-exploitation of the ecosystem.  He also throws in some pretty standard life advice, but much of still unheeded by most people, of enjoying your life and treating others kindly.  Though not uncommon, because of Ken Smith's own life choices, they do feel more substantial coming from him.

This is the kind of light, airport read that can transport you to someone else's very different life while also getting you to think about a thing or two.  I did come away with great sympathy and respect for the guy as well.