Book Review: The Way of the Hermit by Ken Smith

In The Way of the Hermit, Ken Smith offers a profoundly human portrait of solitude—not the performative kind, but the hard-earned, bone-deep kind that comes from living off-grid in the Scottish Highlands for over 40 years.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Genre: Non-Fiction, Autobiography, Nature, Philosophy

Publisher: Michael Joseph

Review in one word: Comforting

In The Way of the Hermit, Ken Smith offers a profoundly human portrait of solitude—not the Instagrammable kind, but the hard-earned, bone-deep kind that comes from living off-grid in the Scottish Highlands for over 40 years. He is the kind of person who lives on his own terms and who still enjoys interacting with people and visiting pubs or having friends over – just on his terms. What began as a reaction to grief and loss became, slowly and quietly, a way of being. Smith’s life in a handmade log cabin on the edge of Loch Treig is full of silence, self-sufficiency, and a deep, almost sacred respect for the land.

Smith writes with gentle humour and a clarity born of long reflection. He’s not trying to convert anyone to hermit life—he’s simply bearing witness to its simplicity and its challenges: repairing roofs in freezing wind, hauling supplies through snow, and listening to owls call across black water. But within these humble moments is something vast. His story is about more than escape; it’s a philosophy of the world that is wise and grounded. Along the way he recalls meeting large people-eating animals, poltergeists, the wildest storms imaginable, kindly and cruel people and more – much more.

“Protest at the direction of society is probably the biggest influence on the decision to go hermit full-time. A feeling that stretches from a general malaise, right through to a downright disgust, at wider mankind’s environmental destruction, our predilection for warfare, our generally regressive political directions and increasing disregard for others”

Excerpt From The Way of the Hermit by Ken Smith

“I think about every piece of firewood as being its own unique part of a living, breathing tree, and give it proper thanks when I burn it for my well-being. I like rowan and larch. They have a good density to them and a beautiful color to their insides—deep rusty reds, tangerine oranges, or salmon pinks—and sometimes this sweet, resinous smell too. It is a smell that heightens in its intensity just after an early summer’s rain.”

Excerpt From The Way of the Hermit by Ken Smith

As I have loved being in the Scottish Highlands and long to go back there, this book felt like enjoying a warm cup of cocoa while a storm rages outside. It’s a hugely comforting book, a balm against the noisy demands of modern life. This is a profound book about how solitude, when chosen and not forced, can be an act of love and joy —for oneself, for the earth, and for life itself. If you are in any way partial to being alone, to nature and understanding the deeper meaning of it all I think you will love this book!