I Have Never Minded the Loneliness: Hermits and Their Stories - Paperback

What compels a person to leave behind society, forsaking family, friends, and the comforts of modern life to live in solitude? The hermits of the 19th and early 20th Centuries are as fascinating as they are mysterious. These enigmatic figures often became the focus of public interest, with newspaper stories turning them into local legends, folk heroes, and symbols of a life apart.

Within these pages, you'll discover the extraordinary lives of hermits who defied convention: John Stink, rumored to have died and risen again-more than once; William Woodruff, whose long vow of silence followed a broken heart; Brusher Mills, the serpent-hunter who sold his own snake-oil remedies; and Truman "Commodore" Downs, who claimed Mars as his homeland. Meet Adolphe-Julian Four?, the reclusive priest who carved strange tales into Brittany's coastal rocks, and Alice Grace, who made her home in an old bacon box, telling fortunes. From William Pester, the desert-dweller who may have inspired Nat King Cole's Nature Boy, to the Old Leather Man, a wandering enigma clad in patchwork leather, and O.B. Joyful, the hermit some call America's first hippie-these stories, and many more, reveal the complex lives of individuals who chose to live apart from the world.

Rich with illustrations and archival photos, this book uncovers the history, mystery, and enduring fascination of hermits and the lives they led.