Follow Andrew Forsthoefel on his walking journey from Pennsylvania to California as he shares the stories he heard from those he met along the way.

This book reminded me a great of Into the Wild, but with a much happier ending.

While I wanted to stay positive, I struggled with this title. I loved the concept but unfortunately it was a book I story I put down and had difficulty picking up.

I must admit that I was looking forward to the stories he gathered. I was not disappointed. However, I also enjoyed the story of his travels. As someone who loves to walk I appreciated the meditative contemplation and the appreciation for his surroundings.

The parts of the book that focus on the premise of "walking to listen" were demonstrably stronger than the rest. Who wouldn't want to walk across America to hear people's thoughts on anything and everything? It's one of those sociological/psychological/anthropological things that most people can only dream of doing. I also thoroughly appreciated the fact that the author acknowledged how privileged he was to be able to do this as a white male. 

I had difficulty getting into Andrew's more philosophical or inner thoughts. And while it's great that Andrew had so many takeaways from his journey across America, I am perhaps not necessarily the audience for it. Or perhaps I think he needs a few more years under his belt because it was not conveyed in a way that didn't scream "I HAVE COME OF AGE".

I few months ago I went through a phase of fascination with the Appalachian Trail. The idea of walking 2,181 miles with nothing but your backpack and resilience was (and still is) kind of romantic in an incredibly awful sort of way. Reading and listening to the stories of individuals who had the initiative to undertake this grueling walk became my favorite pass time; but, I always wondered what motivated people to walk or hike. Why did they want to put their bodies through such torture or leave behind six months of salary?

For Andrew Forsthoefel, the initiative came from a place of needing. At 23, Forsthoefel had graduated from Middlebury College but he still didn't feel as if he had crossed into adulthood. Afterall, how does a young man with virtually no male role models understand what it means to be a "man". Forsthoefel's quest then is not one of accomplishment, but one to understand what it means  to "come of age". Carrying a sign with "Walking to Listen" upon it, a tape recorder, and a backpack, Forsthoefel set out from his mother's home to walk across the United States hoping to gather the collective wisdom of the nation.

As he walks, he converses with an interesting cast of characters. These people, their life stories and wise (or not so wise) advise, are what makes up the majority of the memoir. Every chapter even ends with the transcript of a conversation he had one the road. Walking to Listen is about Forsthoefel and his journey, but that story is told through the voices of the people Forsthoefel was impacted by the most. By doing so, Forsthoefel recognizes and admits the inexperience of his youth and his own lostness and insecurity. This is what makes him a fascinating and humble author of this story. He is not arrogant as he talks or rather listens. He holds his tape recorder out with hopeful necessity, desperately needing guidance.

But we do not loose Forsthoefel in all of the stories of others. We see him grow. At the beginning of the memoir, Forsthoefel almost exclusively retells his conversations and interpersonal encounters. As the book progresses, we see more and more of Forsthoefel. We see his struggle with resentment towards his father and his eventual forgiveness. We see him struggle to complete his walk, desperately wishing to experience a consistence and committed romantic relationship. By the end, he is no longer revealing himself to us through the stories of others but instead through his own thoughts which are told in beautifully searing details.

It is the ending that is most interesting to me. By the time he reaches the Pacific, I was expecting a major breakthrough. I was expecting something melodramatic and slightly pretentious from a book which, frankly by its nature is melodramatic and pretentious. This is not what we get. Instead, it is a quiet and happy reunion between a son and his parents, a traveler and those who have helped him, and friends. Honestly, I was initially slightly let down by the ending but I had to remind myself that this is a memoir and not a novel. Forsthoefel isn't at the end of his life looking back on knowledge gained; instead, he is at the beginning of his life looking at the future with hope. He has found answers to some questions, but he has many questions in his lifetime still left to ask.

Bottom Line: Walking to Listen is an incredibly interesting memoir about coming of age and personal discovery.

Andrew was 23 years old, and he wanted some answers. What does it mean to grow up? How does one go about doing that? He decided that he would walk across America, asking people about their opinions and experiences. This book is the memoir of his 4,000 mile, year-long  walk, the people he spoke with, and his ideas as well as theirs. 

During his trek, Andrew struggled with many emotions including fear and loneliness. He looked to his volumes of writings by Khalil Gibran, Rainer Rilke, and Walt Whitman for answers and comfort. He shared conversations and often homes and meals with complete strangers who were also willing to share their thoughts on life and what it means. He shared his thoughts and feelings as he walked historical places, like Martin Luther King Jr’s marches and the Trail of Tears that the Cherokee walked as they were forced off of their ancestral lands.

There were parts of this book which were moving and insightful, but others that were disjointed or that dragged on for far too long.

After reading Richard Paul Evans (fictional) Series, "The Walk" I wanted to read about someone who had actually done it - walked across America. This is an incredibly courageous journey, a coming of age for the author but also a revelation of the people who are out there in America getting by each day. So few people take the time to listen to others, to hear their stories. This is a wonderful memoir of his travels and some of the fascinating people he met along the way. A wonderful read!!!

Thank you for this book.  Unfortunately, it has formatting errors in the kindle version - strange spacing, and 0 and 1 and 1+ etc... scattered throughout.

A great combination of travelogue, spiritual journey which uses the stories of many people to share many lessons.Full of insight  and well-written..

Beautiful prose and perspective. I loved the spiritual insights along with the typical chaotic dynamics. It was an interesting balance that not many can successfully translate the way Forsthoefel does.

This coming of age novel tries to show readers more about society and how people are so closely interconnected.  Andrew leaves the comfort of his insulated world and encounters poverty, prejudice, kindness, and community, often illuminated over hearty breakfasts.  He also shows his own growth as a character through his risks taking and increasing comfort encountering people,who differ greatly from those who surrounded his suburban Philadelphia upbringing.  A nicely woven tale of growth and reflection.

Walking to Listen: 4,000 Miles Across America, One Story at a Time by Andrew Forsthoefel
This was a great account of the authors walk across America and to his encounters with the people he meets along the way. His goal to learn something about himself, through self reflection, about his own behavior and beliefs, and also about the lives and beliefs of the people he meets.
This story takes us back and forth from the authors life before the walk, and the lives of the people he encounters, and interviews through his idea of walking to listen. He was hopeful that something in their stories would help him discover what he was looking for, within his own life.  He feared that seeking stories of others, would leave him and empty receptacle for the lives of everyone else. But that is not the case.
I love all of the wisdom people gave him along the way and the many different points of view. He met so many people of different social status, race, and lifestyles and each one gave him a bit of themselves.
This book gives one a lot to think about, it allows us to also search our own needs and wants and giving us a glimpse of life outside of ourselves, a less selfish life perhaps.
He had so many wonderful encounters along the way and was able to, for the most part, do away with his preconceived fears and expectations.
One encounter he had and which stood out to me, was after leaving this one man after a 20 min talk, told him: “You know, all you're really doing is reading a book, just with your feet.”  
As a constant companion he had various books with him, from Walt Whitman, Ranier Maria Rilke, to Khalil Gibran, and reflected upon them often.
He thanks the people at the end for: Teaching him what he asked to learn, showing him what he needed to see, and to telling him what he was open to hearing.
This is a very inspiring journey.
Thank  you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for the ARC of this book