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Preface

In the late 1980s, Richard Matthew Simpson, a professional nature photographer, became homeless.

Instead of moving into a shelter, he decided to use the expensive camping gear he’d acquired to rough it on a woodlot just north of Toronto. Squatter’s Rites, tells the story of the fourteen months he spent at “Woodlot College” (his term). One of the things he learns is that it’s as difficult to cope with loneliness as it is to survive frigid temperatures. His Walden is a far less romantic place than Thoreau’s.

Ironically, Simpson left his woodlot holding a winning lottery ticket—a six figure lottery ticket—someone had given him. He used it to finance and lead an expedition to the Amazon, a lifelong dream. He returned to Toronto broke, moved into the shelter system and since then has devoted himself to his writing, using the computers in public libraries.

Although he's been widely published as a photographer, Squatter’s Rites is his first publication as an author.

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