[6] Shattuck attended Deerfield Academy for high school, Cornell University for college, and the Iowa Writers' Workshop for his Master's of Fine Arts in fiction.
The memoir tracks the author's retracing of six walks taken by Henry David Thoreau, which brings about personal memories and emotional insights.
[citation needed] Shattuck's short stories and essays have been published in a number of magazines.
[16][17] In 2021, Oliver Hermanus said of his decision to adapt the story and direct the film: "I instantly fell in love with Ben Shattuck's flawlessly beautiful short story and knew I had to be involved in its journey to the screen.
[25][26][27] Their wedding was postponed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[28][29] and they married in their living room on December 31, 2021.