I Vant To Be Alone

A good friend and one-time student recently asked me for a few books to shed light on solitude, spending time alone and getting a bit of a meditative practice together. I just emailed him, but thought I'd share this odd little list here too. Suggestions for additions gratefully received.

Sara Maitland: A Book Of Silence,
see also http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2014/feb/02/sara-maitland-how-to-be-alone-interview for a good article about solitude with her.

Thomas Moore: Dark Nights of the Soul (very helpful for the inner path)
Stephen Bachelor: Buddhism Without Beliefs (not just good for Buddhists...)
Nan Shepherd: The Living Mountain (out in nature, alone yet not lonely)
Jack Kornfield: The Wise Heart (a great book of insight)
Clark Strand: The Wooden Bowl (a useful 'how to' book for a meditative practice, no fuss)
Marcel Theroux - Far North (a novel by our good T'ai Chi friend, featuring a post apocalyptic, indomitable heroine, alone and self reliant)

I would also add the 'Hainish' novels by Ursula K LeGuin, all the Taoist Classics and Clear Waters Rising by Nicholas Crane (of Coast TV fame) which is the remarkable story of his 18 month solo walk along the mountainous spine of the European continent from West to East.