Walking to Listen: Across the country, one story at a time

Stepping out the backdoor of his home in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, 23-year-old Andrew Forsthoefel began his cross-country venture on October 14, 2011 with one mission: to listen. Using nothing more than his two feet and what necessities are in his pack, he’s wandering the country along the Pacific and making connections with those he crosses paths with – in hopes of receiving a place to lay his head and a meal in his stomach – in exchange for the experience of a lifetime.

Follow him on his blog, Walking to Listen where he chronicles his journey as he heads south down the east coast then onwards west to California. His ambition to gain clarity on everyday life through hearing others stories truly puts things in perspective.

“On this walk, my sole tasks will be to walk and to listen (and to write). It’s my hope that with this slowness and simplicity will come a hyperawareness to every inch of ground I pass and each person I meet.”

“My priority will not be to get from point A to point B (which is why I’m not driving), but rather to know the places and people in the space between these points. Walking, I’ll be forced to meet people, to ask for help, and then, of course, to ask them about them.”