Three Roads Back: How Emerson, Thoreau, and William James Responded to the Greatest Losses of Their Lives
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- Create Date：2023-03-12 06:55:26
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Robert D Richardson
- ISBN：0691224307
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Summary
From their acclaimed biographer， a final， powerful book about how Emerson， Thoreau， and William James forged resilience from devastating loss， changing the course of American thought
In Three Roads Back， Robert Richardson， the author of magisterial biographies of Ralph Waldo Emerson， Henry David Thoreau， and William James， tells the connected stories of how these foundational American writers and thinkers dealt with personal tragedies early in their careers。 For Emerson， it was the death of his young wife and， eleven years later， his five-year-old son; for Thoreau， it was the death of his brother; and for James， it was the death of his beloved cousin Minnie Temple。 Filled with rich biographical detail and unforgettable passages from the journals and letters of Emerson， Thoreau， and James， these vivid and moving stories of loss and hard-fought resilience show how the writers' responses to these deaths helped spur them on to their greatest work， influencing the birth and course of American literature and philosophy。
In reaction to his traumatic loss， Emerson lost his Unitarian faith and found solace in nature。 Thoreau， too， leaned on nature and its regenerative power， discovering that "death is the law of new life，" an insight that would find expression in Walden。 And James， following a period of panic and despair， experienced a redemptive conversion and new ideas that would drive his work as a psychologist and philosopher。 As Richardson shows， all three emerged from their grief with a new way of seeing， one shaped by a belief in what Emerson called "the deep remedial force that underlies all facts。"
An inspiring book about resilience and the new growth and creativity that can stem from devastating loss， Three Roads Back is also an extraordinary account of the hidden wellsprings of American thought。
In Three Roads Back， Robert Richardson， the author of magisterial biographies of Ralph Waldo Emerson， Henry David Thoreau， and William James， tells the connected stories of how these foundational American writers and thinkers dealt with personal tragedies early in their careers。 For Emerson， it was the death of his young wife and， eleven years later， his five-year-old son; for Thoreau， it was the death of his brother; and for James， it was the death of his beloved cousin Minnie Temple。 Filled with rich biographical detail and unforgettable passages from the journals and letters of Emerson， Thoreau， and James， these vivid and moving stories of loss and hard-fought resilience show how the writers' responses to these deaths helped spur them on to their greatest work， influencing the birth and course of American literature and philosophy。
In reaction to his traumatic loss， Emerson lost his Unitarian faith and found solace in nature。 Thoreau， too， leaned on nature and its regenerative power， discovering that "death is the law of new life，" an insight that would find expression in Walden。 And James， following a period of panic and despair， experienced a redemptive conversion and new ideas that would drive his work as a psychologist and philosopher。 As Richardson shows， all three emerged from their grief with a new way of seeing， one shaped by a belief in what Emerson called "the deep remedial force that underlies all facts。"
An inspiring book about resilience and the new growth and creativity that can stem from devastating loss， Three Roads Back is also an extraordinary account of the hidden wellsprings of American thought。
Reviews
KLK
，
"THE BEST BOOKS WE READ THIS WEEK"， New Yorker， 03/08/23 "THE BEST BOOKS WE READ THIS WEEK"， New Yorker， 03/08/23 。。。more
Miles Smith
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Thoughtful short work on how loss affected the intellectual growth of three intellectual giants in the 19th Cent US。
Jim
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Lyrical and fascinating， but ultimately unfinished。 （Given the author's death during the writing of this work， my complaint is likely unfair。） Lyrical and fascinating， but ultimately unfinished。 （Given the author's death during the writing of this work， my complaint is likely unfair。） 。。。more
William T
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Fabulous
Mark
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A short， dry， book that whets the appetite to return to the works of all three men。
Brian Willis
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We lost Richardson just a couple of years ago rather suddenly。 He wrote the greatest book we have on Emerson Emerson: The Mind on Fire， the greatest book on the intellect of Thoreau Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind， and the definitive book on William James William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism。 He wrote with great perception on these titans of Nineteenth century American thought， especially more impressive since they are intellectual biographies， which require not just mastery o We lost Richardson just a couple of years ago rather suddenly。 He wrote the greatest book we have on Emerson Emerson: The Mind on Fire， the greatest book on the intellect of Thoreau Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind， and the definitive book on William James William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism。 He wrote with great perception on these titans of Nineteenth century American thought， especially more impressive since they are intellectual biographies， which require not just mastery of the external mechanics of narrative biography， but a profound understanding of mental processes and evolution。This brief elegiac book on life， love， and loss rather seems like Richardson could see his own end coming （while in his early eighties， he did not - which makes this book more precious）。 This book can easily be read in one sitting， but it reflects a distillation of thoughts on mortality。 When Emerson， Thoreau， and James lost a deeply beloved soul - a young wife， idolized brother， and vivacious close cousin respectively， they were forced to face mortality and remake themselves internally。 Richardson masterfully and lucidly brings those lessons home to the reader。 How do we face such a deeply personal loss and find the resilience to go on？Like his subjects， we find it in the wisdom of the ages: in books and their reflection in the humanity around us。 Only then do we find the sagacity and the hard won emotional knowledge to see the larger pattern in existence: that loss is also a part of the process of living， that the subtraction of our loved ones ends up enlarging us until it is our time as well。 A beautiful and heartfelt brief book， one that serves its own purpose in making us appreciative for Richardson's body of work。 。。。more
Shana Yates
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3。5 stars
Lou Florio
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If anything， this book is too short to fully realize the author’s intentions。 If one has experience with Emerson， Thoreau or James， one will get more out of this book。 Yet， there are helpful realizations shared when it comes to grief。 Yes， none of these authors are Christians in the proper sense。 Indeed， they tend to reject any sense of atonement or salvation through Christ。 Still， for those who struggle with faith or as a adjunct understanding to Christianity， one might find value。 The author l If anything， this book is too short to fully realize the author’s intentions。 If one has experience with Emerson， Thoreau or James， one will get more out of this book。 Yet， there are helpful realizations shared when it comes to grief。 Yes， none of these authors are Christians in the proper sense。 Indeed， they tend to reject any sense of atonement or salvation through Christ。 Still， for those who struggle with faith or as a adjunct understanding to Christianity， one might find value。 The author looks for the subjects’ responses to grief; particularly what helped them be resilient after loss。 He has come to understand that resilience is available to all of us。 He concludes， “Resilience is built into us and into things” （p。 96）。 At some level， one can find strength outside oneself through friends。 One can find strength and healing understanding death is part of life （“nature”）， and we go on through it。 Much as the death that comes with autumn is needed for another spring。 Even our free will to act in the face of death can perhaps change our attitudes about life。 Death is all around us and in us。 We experience small deaths with every loss， and in the deaths of those we love， we die a bit too。 Yet these authors found in surrender some freedom。 In others， they found hope。 Observing nature， they discovered something greater than themselves。 As a Christian， I believe that this way of seeing would not be enough。 These attitudes may （will？） fail us at some level， but there’s some truth to them。 They could help us heal and find what the author calls resilience。 Indeed， I’d argue one can find some of the same “truths” in the Hebrew。 and Christian scriptures， as well as other faith traditions。 In this secular approach to grief， people of faith might yet find some helpful insights。 I’d recommend this text to chaplains who serve multiple faith traditions and humanists。 。。。more
Larry Smith
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Strong Voices of Resilience Shared Here。 Following Megan Marshall's informative "Foreword，" we dive into the lives and lessons of three of America's outstanding voices of reason and perspective。 In focused sections on Ralph Waldo Emerson， Henry David Thoreau， and William James we gain an understanding of how each dealt with struggle and loss。 These shared themes make the book universal in appeal。 Richardson has brought so much insight to these writers in his other books， we can only be grateful Strong Voices of Resilience Shared Here。 Following Megan Marshall's informative "Foreword，" we dive into the lives and lessons of three of America's outstanding voices of reason and perspective。 In focused sections on Ralph Waldo Emerson， Henry David Thoreau， and William James we gain an understanding of how each dealt with struggle and loss。 These shared themes make the book universal in appeal。 Richardson has brought so much insight to these writers in his other books， we can only be grateful for his last effort to share their essence。 A bonus is his portrait of the remarkable Minny Templeton in the section on William James， including how brother Henry James modeled many characters in his fiction after her。 This book is also a portrait of Richardson， who passed away before the book came to press。 His depth can be read in his wise selection of quotes from these fathers of modern thought。 It's a short yet compelling read。 。。。more
Rick
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This is a good discussion of how people deal with the unexpected death of a close relative， in this case famous writers Emerson， Thoreau， and Wm。 James。 Resilience seems to be the key to getting lives back on track for these men。
Matthew
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What a tender， beautiful little book this is。 Three Roads Back is a short， but succinct look at how three men responded to devastating loss。 Richardson， in his introduction， self-labels this work "documentary biography，" which lets his subjects “tell their stories in their own words as much as possible"。 This format works perfectly， as many of of the included passages are soul-stirringly beautiful， needing no further I imagine that fans of Emerson， Thoreau and/or James will undoubtedly enjoy thi What a tender， beautiful little book this is。 Three Roads Back is a short， but succinct look at how three men responded to devastating loss。 Richardson， in his introduction， self-labels this work "documentary biography，" which lets his subjects “tell their stories in their own words as much as possible"。 This format works perfectly， as many of of the included passages are soul-stirringly beautiful， needing no further I imagine that fans of Emerson， Thoreau and/or James will undoubtedly enjoy this book， but Richardson's structure makes this work much more universal。 Examining how these men responded to grief， not only gives us a glimpse into them， as men， but to us， as human beings。 For such a short little book， there is a lot of depth and much to cherish。 We will all experience grief many times throughout our lives。 Reading about how these three responded to their own grief may help readers process their own loss。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
tpg0
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As an AI language model， I cannot provide a personal opinion， but I can provide information about the book。 "Three Roads Back: How Emerson， Thoreau， and William James Responded to the Greatest Losses of Their Lives" is a book by William R。 Hutchison。 The book explores how three American thinkers， Ralph Waldo Emerson， Henry David Thoreau， and William James， coped with personal losses， such as the death of loved ones， and how their experiences influenced their philosophical and literary works。 The book delves into the different ways they grappled with grief and adapted to the changes in their lives， ultimately drawing on their experiences to provide insight and wisdom that continues to resonate with readers today。
tpg1
，
As an AI language model， I can't provide a personal opinion， but based on my analysis， "Three Roads Back: How Emerson， Thoreau， and William James Responded to the Greatest Losses of Their Lives" explores the ways in which three great American thinkers， Ralph Waldo Emerson， Henry David Thoreau， and William James， responded to personal crises in their lives。 The book offers insights into how these individuals faced loss and grief， and how their experiences influenced their philosophical and literary works。 It is a thought-provoking read for those interested in philosophy， literature， and the human experience。
tpg2
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