Walk

Slow Down, Wake Up, and Connect at 1-3 Miles per Hour

By: Jonathon Stalls

Narrated by: Jonathon Stalls

Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

A transformative collection of essays on the power of walking to connect with ourselves, each other, and nature itself.

In 2010, Jonathon Stalls and his blue-heeler husky mix began their 242-day walk across the United States, depending upon each other and the kindness of strangers along the way. In this collection of essays, Stalls explores walking as waking up: how a cross-country journey through the family farms of West Virginia, the deep freedom of Nevada’s High desert, and everywhere in between unlocked connections to his deepest aches and dreams—and opened new avenues for renewal, connection, and change.

While most of us won’t walk or roll across the country, the deep wisdom and insights that Stalls receives from the people, land, and animals he meets on his pilgrimage have profound impacts for each of us. He shares how walking deepened his relationship to himself as a gay man, offering deep and clarifying emotional medicine. He confronts the systemic racism, classism, and ableism that shape and reshape the communities he walks through. And he invites listeners to become awakened activists, to begin healing our culture’s profound separation from the natural world.

WALK is for those who crave to feel and embody, not just know and study, their way through complex themes that live in each chapter: vulnerability, human dignity, presence, mystery, and resistance. With dedicated practices—like connecting to Earth stewardship, moving into vulnerability, and walking and rolling with intention—Stalls’ WALK is an urgent and glorious call to slow down, look around, and engage with the world in front of us. It awakens us to what we miss when we’re driving by, flying over, and rushing past what surrounds us. It’s an invitation to move, to connect, to participate deeply in the world—and to dissolve the barriers that disconnect us from each other and the living Earth.

©2022 Jonathon Stalls (P)2022 North Atlantic Books

Critic reviews

"With a bold and honest voice, Jonathon Stalls invites us to walk with him across America. It is an important journey through a landscape of gender, equity, and discovery. In each meeting we learn who we are and who we might become. From sea to sea there are mountains with sticky spines, and deserts filled with people…and solitude."—John Francis, PhD, author of Planetwalker: Seventeen Years of Silence. Twenty-Two Years of Walking.

“WALK is a powerful invitation that shows us not just the gifts of walking, but what it means to be fully alive....He reminds us what it means to live with a whole heart, even in the midst of our darkest times, and how walking as an individual and community act—as a fundamental human right—can repair our spirits along with our minds, bodies, and communities.” —Antonia Malchik, author of A Walking Life

“Jonathon and I have been walking and talking together for years. We walk and talk about strategies to create more walkable places, management approaches, dogs, love, relationships—everything....This book captures what Jonathon has given me over our hundreds of miles together: listen to your inner wisdom, lean into connections, and embrace your failures as a great teaching tool. WALK is not just a book. It’s designed to take its readers on a meditative journey to enable us to open our eyes to ourselves and each other.” —Lynn Richards, senior VP of policy and implementation at Blue Zones

Bought on a whim - loved it so much

I honestly ordered this book because of a pre-order offer. I just assumed it was about the benefits of walking. I try to walk around my neighborhood every day. This book is so much more. I am so glad I ordered it. I loved the audio version so I could walk and listen and I will need to also order the physical book as a reference. So much good info to look back on. This book has so many elements, how to detach form the modern technology and social media driven world, how to connect to yourself and others, what types of walks and the benefits or downfalls… definitely worth the purchase and more!

Trail Magic

My daughter Quinn and I met Jon 12 years ago while he was just 300 miles in to his 3,000 mile walk across the country. Anecdotes of that walk are included in this book. We were mighty impressed with his purpose then and have kept current with his activities thru the years.

He’s a self described “walking artist” and that’s evident in many ways . His word pictures very descriptive and evocative.

It’s great to witness his progress and his contributions to wherever he has created community thru walking and now in print impacting the world thru shared wisdom.

In meeting him all those years ago , he was most agreeable to participating with Show and Tell for Quinn’s 5th grade class and what now - a book - the ultimate
Show and Tell !!! Good job Jon

Beautiful!

A beautiful book— I have recommended this book to so many friends and family! Full
of inspiration and love. Will inspire or reinspire you to get out and explore the world around you and advocate for a world in which we can all freely and safely move around our communities.

Riveting journey of acceptance and discovery

Jonathon’s book ‘WALK’ is thought provoking and heartfelt. Touching on the systemic challenges of moving too fast in our world and teachings on being present, considerate and the art of actively being empathetic to others in our daily lives and ‘how’ we move through it.
He talks about the power of acceptance of both ourselves and others, belief systems, acts of kindness, love and embracing all we can be in a world that can painfully suppress the rights of others to choose and be whom they are. Simply put, a journey of loving ourselves, others and how we move through our amazing world. Thanks for the passion, love and acceptance you convey Jonathon, my kindest and deepest regards my friend. ~Mollybeth

So worth your time, attention, and love

Here is a path to present and future thriving for you, your community, and our world. The big surprise for me, having payed a lot of attention to Jonathon for years, is the magnificence of this audiobook narration…. It is astonishingly good. The book itself, a beautiful balance among compelling story, deep wisdom, and practical guidance flowers into life here. You will be so glad you chose to listen. Listen deeply.

Very good

Jonathon champions the importance of channeling and engaging with nature, others, Energy, and our relationship with ourselves, through moving slowly and intentionally outside. He encourages the reader to move, feel, see, breath, and live all that is through the wonderful practice of walking. Beautifully written and read by the author himself. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to experience more freedom and connection in their life. Also anyone that wants to learn about the injustice and devastating impacts of living in a car-centric society. Very revealing and insightful.

Calming and inspirational voice -and book

This book was perfect to listen to on my solo walks. Through the author's voice, I felt like he was there with me. I had a walking companion, at my own pace. The prompts were easier to follow through audio and reignited my connection with nature. #lessonsfromtheriver

It has a simple message, but very very boring

I get it… Slow down and smell the roses I found the book kind of boring &not much happening.