A Million Steps
by Kurt Koontz
2013
Kurt Koontz thought he was well prepared for his 490-mile walking trip on the historic Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route in Spain. He was fit and strong. He had a good guidebook and all the right equipment. His pilgrim passport would grant him access to the shelter of hostels along the way. But all that, however helpful, did not begin to encompass the grandeur of his external or internal adventure. A Million Steps climbs over the high meadows of the Pyrenees, quests through the unceasing wind of the Meseta, and dances in the rains of Galicia. While following the yellow arrows that mark the route, Koontz also navigates through his personal history of addiction, recovery, and love. With outgoing humor and friendliness, he embraces the beauty of the countryside and joyful connections to other pilgrims from around the world. Part diary, part travelogue, A Million Steps is a journey within a journey all the way to the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela and beyond.
I’m Off Then: Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago
by Hape Kerkeling
translated by Shelley Frisch
2009
Overweight, overworked, and physically unfit, Kerkeling was an unlikely candidate to make an arduous pilgrimage across the French Alps. But that didn’t stop him from trying, which he describes in this humorous and inspiring travelogue.
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In Movement There Is Peace: Stumbling 500 Miles Along the Way to the Spirit
by Elaine Orabona Foster and Joseph Wilbred Foster III
2013
In Movement There Is Peace is a powerful tale of travel, adventure, and unexpected faith. It begins with a doctor who walks away from her practice in order to cure her own paralyzing anxiety. Once free, she discovers that leaving is really only fleeing if there’s no new direction. Could this be the reason for her husband’s sudden inspiration? “I want us to walk the Camino de Santiago, it’s an 800 kilometer pilgrimage across northern Spain.” After deliberating the wisdom of walking 500 miles with no planning or physical conditioning and little religious faith, the two set off to walk the “Way of Saint James.” Their “no-plan” plan sets off a series of extraordinary events that can only be explained as divine intervention. It starts with an enigmatic suggestion from a former pilgrim who sends them off with a caution: “There are no coincidences on the Camino.” The tale itself is a funny, fascinating pilgrim’s progress seeded by unique characters and full of amazing surprises. Follow along the pilgrim’s path as it shares its secrets on how to create a life that’s unafraid of death, experience emotional lightness by carrying a smaller physical load, journey without plans and have more fun doing it, make a leap of faith and land closer to paradise. If you’ve ever doubted yourself or your abilities, read this book. Lose the Fear… Live the Life.
Off the Road: A Modern-Day Walk Down the Pilgrim’s Route into Spain
by Jack Hitt
2005
Off the Road is an unforgettable exploration of the sites that people believe God once touched: the strange fortress said to contain the real secret Adam learned when he bit into the apple, the sites associated with the murderous monks known as the Knights Templar, and the places housing relics ranging from a vial of the Virgin Mary’s milk to a sheet of Saint Bartholomew’s skin.
Along the way, Jack Hitt finds himself persevering by day and bunking down by night with an unlikely and colorful cast of fellow pilgrims—a Flemish film crew, a drunken gypsy, a draconian Belgian air force officer, a man who speaks no languages, a one-legged pilgrim, and a Welsh family with a mule.
In the day-to-day grind of walking under a hot Spanish sun, Jack Hitt and his cohorts not only find occasional good meals and dry shelter but they also stumble upon some fresh ideas about old-time zealotry and modern belief. Off the Road is an engaging and witty travel memoir of an offbeat journey through history that turns into a provocative rethinking of the past.
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Pilgrimage to the End of the World: The Road to Santiago de Compostela
by Conrad Rudolph
2004
Traveling two and a half months and one thousand miles along the ancient route through southern France and northern Spain, Conrad Rudolph made the passage to the holy site of Santiago de Compostela, one of the most important modern-day pilgrimage destinations for Westerners. In this chronicle of his travels to this captivating place, Rudolph melds the ancient and the contemporary, the spiritual and the physical, in a book that is at once travel guide, literary work, historical study, and memoir.
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The Camino: A Journey of the Spirit
by Shirley MacLaine
2001
The author shares the experience of her spiritual journey while on a pilgrimage through the Santiago de Compostela Camino in Spain.
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The Pilgrimage
by Paulo Coelho
2008
This gorgeously repackaged international bestseller recounts the spectacular trials of Paulo Coelho and his mysterious mentor, Petrus, as they make their journey of discovery across Spain—on a legendary road that has been traveled by pilgrims since the Middle Ages.
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The Way, My Way
by Bill Bennett
2014
“I’d never done anything crazy like this before—a pilgrimage walk. I was not a hiker, and I wasn’t a Catholic. In fact, I wasn’t even sure I was a Christian. On the last government census when I had to state my religion, I’d said I was a Buddhist, mainly because they’ve had such a hard time in Tibet and I felt they needed my statistical support. I was also not an adventure traveller. For me, adventure travel was flying coach. All this backpacking and wearing of heavy boots and flying off to France to walk ancient pilgrimage routes was a new experience, and not one that made me feel entirely comfortable.” And so Bill Bennett, an Australian-based film director, set off on an 800-kilometer walk across Spain to Santiago de Compostela, not sure why he was doing it, and not feeling entirely comfortable. His discomfort increased markedly a few days later when his knee gave out, so the rest of the walk was a “pain management pilgrimage.” But he kept his sense of humor, and his memoir is at times hilarious but also deeply moving and insightful. In the vein of Bill Bryson and Eric Newby, The Way, My Way takes you on a unique spiritual journey, and gives you a hearty laugh along the way.
To the Field of Stars: A Pilgrim’s Journey to Santiago de Compostela
by Kevin A. Codd
2008
Seeking to take stock of his life, Kevin Codd set out in July 2003 on a pilgrimage that would profoundly change his life. To the Field of Stars tells the fascinating story of his unusual spiritual and physical journey on foot across Spain to Santiago de Compostela, the traditional burial place of the apostle James the Greater. Each brief chapter chronicling Codd’s thirty-five-day trek is dedicated to one or two days on the road. Codd shares tales of other pilgrims, his own changes of perspective, and his challenges and triumphs along the way—all told with a disarming candor.
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Walk in a Relaxed Manner: Life Lessons from the Camino
by Joyce Rupp
2005
Describes the humor, heartbreak, and adventure of Rupp’s 47-day, 450-mile trek along the famous Spanish pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago. Photographs and a map of the route invite readers to travel along the dusty track.
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