Walking To Listen: 4,000 Miles Across America, One Story at a Time

At 23, with a bachelor's degree in philosophy, Forsthoefel was uncertain about his future. To find some answers, he decided to walk from his suburban home in Pennsylvania to the California coastline. Taking minimal possessions (including a tent and some Snickers bars) and wearing a sign reading "Walking To Listen," Forsthoefel sought to clarify his own sense of self through the act of walking. By listening to others, he hoped to discover what it means to come of age. Featured throughout this lyrical adventure memoir are transcripts of conversations between the author and those he met on the road. Passages from his favorite writers (Walt Whitman, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Kahlil Gibran) enhance the text. Each state Forsthoefel traversed receives some time in the descriptive spotlight. He considers weighty issues, such as race, privilege, religion, and family, and offers a fresh spin on familiar themes as he ponders how to approach the world and all its beauty and pain and how to listen to others.