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For anyone who struggles with the mundanity of day to day life, Knight’s decision won’t feel so incredible. He survived by stealing from local cabins and camp sites, feeling terrible about it every time. He set off into the Maine woods with no plan, determined to to things his way. Christopher Knight, in a split second decision, chose to live differently. This book goes deeper than the news articles, and Finkel draws his thoughts and conclusions from about nine hours of conversation with Knight, as well as conversations with Knight’s family and the police officers who captured him. How did he survive for so long, completely alone, in the woods? What did he do to stay warm in the bitter Main winters? What was his mental state? Is he autistic? Schizophrenic? Finkel eventually reached out to Christopher in prison, and weaseled his way in to a face to face meeting, determined to discover the man behind the facade of the North Pond Hermit. After 27 years, Knight is finally captured and arrested – the hermit had been taken down.Īfter Knight’s arrest, journalist Michael Finkel couldn’t get the story of the illusive “North Pond Hermit” out of his mind. Maine residents knew someone was living in the woods, experiencing frequent, but minor, burglaries. Knight vanished when he was 20 years old, leaving his family to think him dead. If you’ve read the news stories about Christopher Knight, you know the facts around his mysterious disappearance. This is a story that will speak to the introverts out there (hi, that’s me) the people that need quiet in their days and thrive when alone. He was confounded by the idea that passing the prime of of your life in a cubicle, spending hours a day at a computer in exchange for money was considered acceptable, but relaxing in a tent in the woods was disturbed…What did Knight to for a living? He lived for a living. It’s possible that Knight believed he was one of the few sane people left. It is a gripping story of survival that asks fundamental questions about solitude, community, and what makes a good life, and a deeply moving portrait of a man who was determined to live his own way, and succeeded.
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Based on extensive interviews with Knight himself, this is a vividly detailed account of his secluded life–why did he leave? what did he learn?–as well as the challenges he has faced since returning to the world. He broke into nearby cottages for food, clothing, reading material, and other provisions, taking only what he needed but terrifying a community never able to solve the mysterious burglaries. Living in a tent even through brutal winters, he had survived by his wits and courage, developing ingenious ways to store edibles and water, and to avoid freezing to death. He would not have a conversation with another human being until nearly three decades later, when he was arrested for stealing food. OF HIS LANGUAGE THAT WELL.In 1986, a shy and intelligent twenty-year-old named Christopher Knight left his home in Massachusetts, drove to Maine, and disappeared into the forest. The caption changes to "One is the loneliest number." Michael says HE NEVER WROTE A SINGLE THING Michael says NO, HE STOLE PROPANE TANKS, AND Michael says LIKE WE WERE SUPPOSED TO TALK, Michael says AND THEN HE OPENS MY LETTER AND Michael says "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, GET
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Michael says TO GEEK OUT TOO MUCH ABOUT THE Michael says YEAH, I MEAN, THIS IS A LITTLE Nam says BUT WHEN HE WROTE BACK AFTER YOU Michael says I HIRED TWO FACT CHECKERS, I Michael says YEAH, SO I'M 100 percent HUMAN. Michael says THAT MADE HIM RESPOND, IT'S A Michael says AND I MAILED IT TO THE KENNEBEC Michael says SO CHRIS KNIGHT WAS ARRESTED Then, it changes again to "Making a myth." He's wearing round glasses and a spotted red shirt. Michael is in his late thirties, clean-shaven, with short, receding gray hair. The cover features a picture of a dense forest in hues of green and yellow. Nam Kiwanuka, says FOR NEARLY THREE DECADES,Ī picture of the book appears briefly on screen. She's wearing glasses and a gray blazer over a red and blue shirt.Ī caption on screen reads "The last true hermit. She's in her early forties, with shoulder length curly brown hair. Transcript: The Last True Hermit | Aug 28, 2017Nam sits in the studio.