The cure at walden Pond
In this new book Thomas Moore selects fifty brilliant and colorful passages from Henry David Thoreau’s journals, letters, books and essays. He engages them with his own ideas on each theme. He treats Thoreau not as a nineteenth-century environmentalist but as a theologian, philosopher and seeker scouring nature for secrets to life so that he can live consciously and creatively. Thomas finds in Thoreau’s ideas solutions to our own troubled world and views this new book as a kind of Walden Pond, where we, too, can retreat and find a cure to humanity’s moral and psychological sickness.
January 12, 2026. Three days ago I sent in the final corrected manuscript of this new book. It is not about Henry David Thoreau, and I am not an expert on him. It is not a literal dialogue with him either, but is my engagement with his ideas. I do not see him primarily as an environmentalist or a nature lover, but as a practical, existential philosopher in search of a meaningful life. I have tried to write the book with a degree of formality that echoes Thoreau’s manner but is nevertheless my own style. I am lucky to have found an excellent publisher in Pegasus Books, but did have some trouble working with a copy editor who was exacting but also insensitive to my style and vocabulary. It was an exhausting process. And this is my thirty-second book.
My original subtitle was “Making the World a Better Place by Restoring our Humanity.” My purpose is to help people around the world recover their values and become more sensitive to the needs of the human community. It is a matter of mental health, as we call it, and a soulful life, my steady theme.
THE ELOQUENCE
OF SILENCE
With compassion and insight, Thomas Moore offers a compelling case for an easier, lighter way of moving through life by experiencing the peace, calm, and openness of emptiness. Through ancient and modern stories, Moore gently shows that our constant multitasking may not be getting us anywhere, and that emptiness is not a lack but an invitation that can be our greatest teacher. A daily awareness and appreciation of the quiet spaciousness in our world and our own lives is not a retreat from reality but a rich and full welcome to all that is most meaningful and real.
Praise for THE ELOQUENCE OF SILENCE
“This precious book is an extraordinary journey into silence and emptiness, one that touches all aspects of life and is revelatory.”
“A crystalline conjuring of uncluttered consciousness, a compellingly lucid and often funny meditation onunsuspected portals to magic and freedom.”
“Moore shows us that emptiness doesn’t mean nothing or that nothing matters; rather, it exposes the great expansive significance of everything.”
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