The Way of the Hermit: My Incredible 40 Years Living in the Wilderness – An Inspiring Scottish Adventure Memoir of Solitude and Resilience

by Ken Smith, Will Millard (Primary Contributor)

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published April 28, 2026

About the author

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Reviews

[Kat Enad · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story of Ken Smith's adventures and time living in the Highlands! He has many good stories of his adventures backpacking, then building and living in his cabin, and many, many wise words about life and how to treat others. Some chapters were page turners, others were less so, but still an interesting read on living off-grid!

[JIMMYRECKLESS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautifully and calmly written, such a fantastic read!

The whole narrative of the book is just so down to earth to read. From his travelling experience in Canada to his life as a hermit back in Scotland, Ken makes me feel like I’m part of this journey, like an old companion who takes me along into his world through all those little things in life.

Although the narrative is flat, it is far from boring. The way he writes about building his cabin, walking a long way back and forth to get groceries, taking care of his garden, vegetables he grows, his brewing…makes it very easy to visualise in my mind. I could almost picture the whole book like a filmed documentary. Those little details are absolutely what I enjoy the most.

I like how Ken appreciates little things. This man truly doesn’t need much to keep himself going. As we’re living in a heavily materialistic world, he’s still got the grip to himself to be able to navigate through life.

The most inspiring part of the book is that all the little stories can be translated to a life philosophy of perseverance, optimism, gratitude, happiness, and energy to deal with terrible situations. It kinda tells that life is a bag of opportunities and you get to choose the ones you want for yourself and fight for it.

The whole book is just visualisable, just like watching this man’s everyday in a documentary. If you live in a fast paced urban life, this might be a great read to slow things down.

[Rhian Beldon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stole this from my grandfather after he finished it, and it made for a leisurely summer read… one that took me a little longer to finish than I care to admit.

Lots of personal lessons, deep thoughts, and some really great anecdotes. Interesting, thoughtful, and just quirky enough to make you wonder… maybe the hermit has the right idea. 🤪⛰️

[Lucy Gray-Donald · Rating 2 out of 5]

I always love a good living in the wilderness story but I was disappointed by this one. I found the hermit shared too many reflections of deep thoughts (which were not that interest) when his anecdotes were more captivating. I still learned some things about Scotland though.....

[JM]

Did not finish at 73%

[Michelle Barker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started brilliantly, petered off after a while and was probably longer than it needed to be, but I still really enjoyed Ken Smith's perspective on life.

[Heather Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely account of a life spent in the wilderness

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite preachy in parts.

[Charissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this would be a quick read, but it unfortunately drug on and on… and it was quite dry and pretty boring.

[Joshua Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something beautiful about nature and losing yourself in the vastness of it.