STRANGER in the WOODS-Man Lives Alone in the Woods for 27 Years, Stranger than Fiction

"Modern life seems set up so that we can avoid loneliness at all costs, but maybe it's worthwhile to face it occasionally," contemplates NYT journalist, Michael Fink.  Fink was the only person Chis Knight, "the hermit," corresponded with or granted visitations.  Knight a.k.a., the hermit is notoriously known for surviving alone in the wilderness for 27 years.  Hermit and surviving are questionable terms because the appellate was coined by people in ME whose homes were subjected to his thefts.  Surviving is not how  Knight would describe his life of for nearly 30 years throughout severe weather and stark conditions in the woods.  Perhaps, thrive would best describe Knights existence in isolation in a primitive environment.   Therein lies two major enigmas, how did he manage to survive alone and secondly, and what's even more perplexing, why would he choose to ostracize himself?  Knight managed to elude detection as he mysteriously managed to traverse the words without leaving footprints and his break-ins for food, clothes, books and batteries were meticulous; nothing left awry.   Still, there are so many why questions left unanswered.  One ponders conceptions we hold from reading Fink's factual reporting of Knight's history, and methods for survival and an accounting of Knight's state of mind.  One wonders how and why Knight chose to live like this and how exactly did he managed to avoid any human interaction for so long.   Most beguiling, how did Knight manage not to feel lonely? What's to be gained by self-awareness and self-reliance and what benefits mankind by living amongst others.  I strongly recommend STRANGER in the WOODS for its unique opportunity to assess a lifestyle and a lifestyle choice unlike any that's been previously reported.  It's endlessly fascinating and spins a romantic idea of solitude and a hellhole of self-inflicted banishment.  Knight remained true to himself in a way most could ever conceive.  "He left because the world is not made to accommodate people like him.  He was never happy in his youth.  It made him feel constantly nervous.  There was no place for him, and instead of suffering further, he escaped.  It was not so much a protest as a quest.  He was a refugee from the human race.  The forest offered him shelter."   Knight's disdain for society stems from its frenzy and crassness.  "It's too loud.  Too colorful. The lack of aesthetics.  The crudeness. The inanities.  The trivia. The inappropriate choices of aspirations and goals." Aside from Knight judgements of societal flaws,  Knight had a natural proclivity for the serenity inherent in nature.  "I did it because the alternative was-I wasn't content.  I did find a place where I was content.  I miss the woods."