Annals of Solitude
A Year in a Hut in the Arctic
- Philosophy
- Publisher: Resource Publications (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2022
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Publisher's Description
This philosophical travelogue is a record of the joys (and frustrations) of disconnecting from our complicated, modern existence and living, at a time of climate upheaval, a simple life as close to nature as possible. Eager to know what life might be like if we choose another path, Leonard lived for a year in a cabin in the most remote Arctic settlement he could find and discovered how the paraphernalia of modern living conspires to eliminate our dreams. In the manner of a flat-earther, he went to the High Arctic not just in search of the ice edge, but also to examine the boundaries of our human psyche. No longer ruled by time and blessed by transcendences that flashed him the totality of life, he found harmony with the external world led to an inner dialogue that challenged everything he had known before. Whilst sitting aloof at the top of the world watching humanity having gone astray with our actions threatening to literally change the color of the map, he put the small and great into perspective with the aid of a poetry volume.
Endorsements (4)
“Stephen Pax Leonard has given us an extraordinary account of life in the Arctic, combining the courage and grit of the great English explorers with poetry and effortless erudition. His experiences of extreme remoteness, cold, and darkness, but also friendship, fun, and true bonds with nature take us right to the forgotten center of our spiritual possibilities in the twenty-first century.”
“Annals of Solitude is a travel book in two senses. It takes us to the end of the earth, to a spectacular landscape and a remarkable community of people experiencing alarming change. And it is Stephen Pax Leonard’s painfully honest and true interior journey into darkness and light. The outcome, by some margin, is the most thought-provoking and moving book I have read in years.”
“Stephen Pax Leonard uses his exceptional writing and narrative skills to describe the world lying beyond the reach of ordinary people. The author shares his rich experience of enduring harsh northern conditions while trying to get to the core of the native peoples’ culture, language, and the art of survival. If one wants to know the meaning of anthropology in action, this is exactly the book that should be tasted, read, and digested.”
“Stephen Pax Leonard’s voluntary exile on Greenland is reminiscent of the ancient Irish and British monks who left the British Isles in search of an ascetic retreat in the North Atlantic prior to the Viking age. These adventurous monks were seeking God in the wild and silence of the Far North. Leonard’s contemporary spiritual quest in this Arctic Walden is a meditation on an encounter with Reality with a capital R when the noise and distractions of the modern world are removed.”
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