Walden on Wheels: On the Open Road from Debt to Freedom Paperback – 14 May 2013

This is quite an unusual book and one which I greatly enjoyed. The author is burdened with a student debt of $32,000 when he finishes college and I mean burdened. The weight of the debt weighs so heavily upon him that he feels he has to move heaven and earth to remove it. However, this is not just a tale of the menial, low wage jobs he was prepared to take to make a dent in his indebtedness. Ken is clearly something of a free spirit and Alaska and the wilderness greatly appeal to him so he manages to have a lot of fun and do the things he wants to do whilst still accomplishing his prime objective.When he finally pays off the debt one senses that he did not achieve the release he was expecting and was in something of a dilemma as to what to do next. Along the way he has achieved a taste for learning and manages to get a post graduate place at Dukes, a prestigious university. However, this time round he is determined not to end up with any sort of debt. This involves him in something of a solitary and spartan existence living in his camper van in the utmost secrecy as he suspects the college authorities would take a dim view of his lifestyle.Ken is inspired by the example of Thoreau, who demonstrated that it was possible to live a frugal existence and wrote a book on his experiences which have inspired the title of this book since he was living by Walden Pond. I was wondering as I went along how this was all going to turn out. If the author achieved a debt free graduation which was his aim, would he continue to be a free and spontaneous spirit or would he settle for a more conventional existence. I will leave you to read it for yourself and discover the outcome. This is an absorbing real life tale which I personally found a great read.