Henry David Thoreau - The Original "Social Distancer" - Has Newfound Relevancy During The Pandemic

You might not think you have too much in common with Henry David Thoreau – an American naturalist, author, and philosopher from the 1800s. Thoreau is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon his two-years living in the woods around Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Suddenly his experience as the original “social-distancer” seems quite relevant.

The famous New Englander had a poignant appreciation for nature – something many of us rediscovered this year as the world closed in and people went outside to smell the flowers and to admire the wildlife that reclaimed parts of our towns and cities as human traffic decreased.

Author David Gessner is inspired by Thoreau. In Gessner’s latest book, “Quiet Desperation, Savage Delight: Sheltering with Thoreau in the Age of Crisis,” he finds insight about how to live through a pandemic from the man who iconically self-isolated in a hut in the woods.

Gessner is the author of 12 books and a professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.