Walden on Wheels: On the Open Road from Debt to Freedom

Written by Ken Ilgunas

Narrated by Nick Podehl

In this frank and witty memoir, Ken Ilgunas lays bare the existential terror of graduating from the University of Buffalo with $32,000 of student debt. Ilgunas set himself an ambitious mission: get out of debt as quickly as possible. Inspired by the frugality and philosophy of Henry David Thoreau, Ilgunas undertook a three-year transcontinental journey, working in Alaska as a tour guide, garbage picker, and night cook to pay off his student loans before hitchhiking home to New York.

Debt-free, Ilgunas then enrolled in a master’s program at Duke University, determined not to borrow against his future again. He used the last of his savings to buy himself a used Econoline van and outfitted it as his new dorm. The van, stationed in a campus parking lot, would be more than an adventure—it would be his very own “Walden on Wheels.”

Freezing winters, near-discovery by campus police, and the constant challenge of living in a confined space would test Ilgunas’s limits and resolve in the two years that followed. What had begun as a simple mission would become an enlightening and life-changing social experiment.

Walden on Wheels offers a spirited and pointed perspective on the dilemma faced by those who seek an education but who also want to, as Thoreau wrote, “live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: May 14, 2013
• ISBN: 9781469283678

Ken Ilgunas

Ken Ilgunas is an author, journalist, and backcountry ranger in Alaska. He has hitchhiked ten thousand miles across North America, paddled one thousand miles across Ontario in a birchbark canoe, and walked 1,700 miles across the Great Plains, following the proposed route of the Keystone XL pipeline. Ilgunas has a BA from SUNY Buffalo in history and English, and an MA in liberal studies from Duke University. The author of Walden on Wheels, Trespassing Across America, and This Land Is Our Land, he is from Wheatfield, New York.

Reviews for Walden on Wheels

[ElRey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A book about real freedom from within and not just the trend of van life.

[Eric Hoglund · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Surprisingly good and entertaining
Good for the potential college student to listen to

[David Bradbury · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book educated, entertained, and inspired me . Hope it does the same for many.

[Luke · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable listen. Generally well laid out with some life lessons he learnt along the way.

[jinjer-641812 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Hmmm... I liked the chapters when he was in Alaska and when he hitchhiked and had various other adventures, but the rest of it was kind of a slag.

According to his charts, living in an apartment would've only cost slightly more than living in the van so he should've upgraded IMHO.

[kevn57-163679 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'd just read "Last American Man" in search of an updated Walden and was disappointed that Eustace didn't live up to Thoreau, I should have read this book instead Ken Ilgunas is the closest a modern day American could at approaching the ideal.
I loved the book for the adventure and the philosophy, I only wish I'd been as wise as Ken when I was his age. I'd highly recommend this to anyone interested in adventure, travel or nature or someone trying to get out from underneath a mountain of debt.

[jsabrina-219220 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a well-written memoir about a young man's journey from unemployed college graduate with more than $30,000 in student loans, to an older, wiser person living debt-free after daring to find adventure while keeping living costs to a bare minimum.

But while Ilgunas' frugality provides the motivation for the story, it's the combination of unusual adventures and vivid inner life that make the story constantly engaging. He's a bit of an extremist, but he has a fierce integrity and intellectual curiousity that keep him clear-eyed about the choices he makes.

The book provides some insights into what it's like to live in a van, but it's not a how-to. Likewise, Ilgunas shares some of his budgets, but this is not a book on frugal living. That said, this book will probably inspire most people to take a second look at the costs they take for granted, and reflect on what they might gain by letting go of the excesses of modern life.

I hope Ilgunas writes more books.

[starla_aurora · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Finally I have finished. I have always wanted to read this book since I read the article on his Van- Dwelling. I was one of those he speaks of at the end who sent a facebook friend request and have since kept up, somewhat, with his recent travels. I even purchased his book for the kindle and let him know when goodreads placed his book on a must read for graduates list. I love his book, I love the way he has lived his life. While I would love to live a life like his, for medical and other reasons I cannot. I love my Career as a Librarian and I love raising my 2 kids in our small home in Clayton,NC. But I also enjoy traveling. I don't think I will ever attempt to climb a physical mountain on a whim. But I enjoy traveling none-the-less. Ken is an amazing person who has ideals I agree with and can relate to. He also has the knack of explaining things in simple terms for those who do not have the educational background and home upbringing many of our government officials and legal professionals have. These are among many of the reason I adore Ken and his traveling ways. I strongly suggest this and all his books to anyone willing to listen/read.

[samsattler · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was drawn to Walden on Wheels by its premise that a young man could gain from living a solitary life in his van while pauing back all of his student loans as quickly as possible in order to both minimize interest accruals and get on with the rest of his life. And for the most part, the book delivers on the promise of its cover. However, I was disappointed by the condescending manner and overall tone of the last twenty percent or so of the book as the author pontificated about the gloriousness of living the simple life compared to the vulgarness of a life in the suburbs. And don't even think about going to work on Wall Street or for an oil or gas company because the author holds that very thought in contempt - along with you for even considering it. I grew weary of all the little jabs at Republicans, the oil and gas industry, and Fox News and soon found myself questioning the wisdom of anyone as close-minded as Ken Ilgunas appears to be...close-minded, and as this quote from the book rightfully criticizing Henry David Thoreau indicates, he doesn't have a whole lot of self-awareness either:"While I understand Thoreau, in his writings I began to notice an unflinching unreasonableness, a rigid ideology, a foolish dogma."Talk about the pot calling the kettle black...

[swampygirl-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While I didn't necessarily appreciate some of the intimate details Ilgunas felt inspired to share - especially when it came to his genitalia and other regions which are generally covered. What I really liked about this book was the journey of the author as he "came of age". Of course the perspective of the memoir is from his vantage point at the end, so maybe I shouldn't be so lenient on him, but it did seem - particularly after he got into grad school - that his narrative style at least got a bit less judgmental and egotistical. He isn't perfect, but who is?

Over all 4 stars. Down with the system! I don't know. I am certainly biased in Ilgunas' favor.

[sile_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Why did I read it?I have a significant amount of unsecured debt which I have been paying off for years, and I am contemplating returning to university to change my life, so this book definitely caught my eye, having read the synopsis.What’s it about? Ken Ilgunas recounts his adventures as he seeks to pay off his undergraduate debts in the first part of the book, and, then how he secured his post-graduate degree at Duke University without going into further debt.What did I think?Though this book was what I thought it might be from the synopsis - it provided food for thought as I contemplated my own future, and how I might manage financially - somehow it missed it's mark with me. I certainly know I could not undertake the route the author chose to become, and remain debt free.Ken Ilgunas worked in some awful places to pay off his original debt, before living in a van, parked up on campus, while undertaking post-graduate study Duke university. The path he chose to travel is definitely different from the norm including working in a remote outpost in Alaska, working as part of an environmental group both of which included room and board, so any earnings could be utilised to pay off his debt quicker. Ken then undertook a journey with a group seeking to replicate the experience of the Canadian voyageurs of the 18th and 19th centuries before undertaking his post-graduate degree without going back into debt.Although there are some interesting anecdotes about his adventures while reducing his debt, and he provides details of his budgets, overall, something is lacking in the telling of Ken Ilgunas's tale; I’m not sure I know what though. In some sections of the book I felt I was being preached at about how bad it is to join corporate America, or the rat race; in other places, the narration became somewhat wordy in describing feelings about places and/or people. As much as the author seemed to go into detail, I’m not sure I really know just how he did cope on a day-to-day level under the strict, self-imposed budgetary, and living conditions. Throughout this recollection, I always had the feeling something was missing.Ken Ilgunas eschews the normal path people take through life, consisting of (in his opinion) getting and education, working in a job they may dislike to paying off the debts they accrue getting that education, getting a mortgage, continuing to work in a job they dislike to pay off the mortgage and other consumer debts, then retiring without having really lived. It’s a point-of-view held by many who seek the simpler life, but others may disagree believing it is more about “dropping out” of humanity, something which Ken’s mother hints at in the book.The narration by Nick Podehl was quite well done, though I did query the pronunciation of some words, but this might have been accounted for by the difference between American and UK English. The audio edition I downloaded from Audible was crisp, clear and without any faults.Walden on Wheels: On the Open Road from Debt to Freedom is an interesting read about one young man’s journey to find his place in the world, and getting out from the under burden of being in debt, but it just didn’t quite hit the mark for me.Would I recommend it? Yes, I would recommend it to any person contemplating university and taking on student loans. Read this first.