Thoreau and Me

Cédric, a forty-something painter living in Paris, is contacted by the spirit of Henry David Thoreau, who inspires him to dream of a self-sufficient cabin in the woods. In Thoreau and Me, Cédric Taling explores the causes and consequences of the climate emergency and asks how we can learn to live with and respond to eco-anxiety.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 128 pages
Publication date: 05 March 2020
Publisher: SelfMadeHero

Cédric, a forty-something painter residing in Paris, delves into heavy reading on the ecological and climate emergency, prompting him to question his life choices. Amidst a state of vulnerability and eco-anxiety, he receives a contact from the spirit of Henry David Thoreau, a writer, environmentalist, and the author of Walden.

Two centuries separate Cédric from the author who, disheartened by the narrow materialism of industrialized America, sought refuge in a single-room cabin nestled by Walden Pond. However, as their Socratic dialogue unfolds, Cédric observes striking parallels between the suffocating commercialism of mid-19th-century America and the unsustainable, alienating, tech-driven consumerism of today. Both societies are molded by a single priority—economic growth—that not only depletes the earth's resources but also distances human beings from nature.

Inspired by Thoreau's return to nature, Cédric begins envisioning his own retreat from urban life: his own self-sufficient cabin nestled in the woods.

In Thoreau and Me, Cédric Taling delves into the causes and consequences of the current climate emergency. Blending humor, philosophy, and fiction, Taling explores how, in the face of unprecedented ecological and climate breakdown, we can learn to live with and respond to eco-anxiety.

Weight: 394g
Dimension: 170 x 239 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781910593837