The Lost Pond is a wilded sanctuary space in Massachusetts. It includes long, meandering trails, a kettle hole, and a quaking bog. A section of the surrounding woods was recently remediated, because of its proximity to the (now closed) town dump. I call this site ‘The Clearing’. When our beautiful, vibrant son Lucas unexpectedly died in his sleep in 2017, my family made a provisional shrine in the adjacent woods with sticks and flowers, along the trail to Lost Pond. It continues to be a site of pilgrimage for us.

I began inviting people to walk with me through the trails of the Lost Pond in 2019. The invitation was not for an ordinary walk, it was to join me on an audio-walk I made in collaboration with my musician friends. It involves walking while listening to geo-located music, sounds, and song, along with live storytelling and trail guiding by me. It’s called the RADIO SILENCE audio-walk. By now I have guided this audio-walk hundreds of times, with all kinds of walking companions, through all kinds of crazy weather. It has become a repetitive grief ritual for me, pressing my feet over and over into the soft, well-worn ground of mourning.

The original music of RADIO SILENCE was co-produced with Terrance Reeves, and recorded with the inimitable talents of the LENNY collective; Chris Burleson, Josh Margolis, and Andrew Wheeler, along with Josie Lowder and Elspeth McSurely.

Above photo: Kelly Davidson

Testimonials

Notes and drawings from participants of the RADIO SILENCE audio-walk can be found here. Drawings, handwritten letters, or email excerpts, in response to the guided, geo-located audio-walk, offer a unique glimpse into the impact of each walk.

read more

(Although the geo-located audio can still be found embedded in Lost Pond trails, I no longer guide walks in person.)