What Henry David Thoreau and Annie Dillard have in common is that they both lived off the land to gain greater insight into life.
Both writers were highly influenced by trascendentalism, a belief that supports the idea that God is only present in nature and that spiritual truth can only be achieved when someone is in contact with nature. Both Thoreau and Dillard decided to move to the countryside for several months to be surrounded by nature and distance themselves from society, anxiety, and the big cities in order to find more time to meditate and experience live in a more satisfying way.