Hermit: A memoir of finding freedom in a wild place

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It's clear to see Jade has always had a pure love and joy of nature, with a wealth of knowledge that can only come from studying it with all her heart. Have you seen those occasional job adverts seeking someone to go and live on a remote island and count nesting birds or catalogue seashells? But you can't really start self-identifying as a hermit when you don't actually live out in the wilds alone, cut off from civilisation. I will also ask about how they navigate difficult territory for themselves and those they love, and what has shifted or changed as a result of this process.

They met me when I was really together and doing my Masters, which kind of felt like a fraudulent version of myself.Living in a wild, remote place surrounded by nature sounds like heaven to me – although I’m not sure how the rest of my household might feel about it.

Numbed from years in the destructive relationship, she faces an uncertain future and complete solitude.Her writing was certainly more evocative but maybe less dream-like in this final part (it was during a Covid lockdown so perhaps that was an influence? Hermit recounts how years in a destructive relationship to a former partner leaves Fitton numbed and her life unravelling. Through conversations with other hermits across the world, Fitton sheds light on an extraordinary and misunderstood way of living which has survived into the 21st century - from monks, to hikikomori, and the often ignored female hermit.