Pilgrimage: Lessons Learned from Solo Walking Three Ancient Ways

When life breaks you down, sometimes you have to walk yourself back together. At 45, I was drowning in despair, midlife crisis, and sleepless nights that stretched into months. The world had locked down, but my real prison was the suffocating routine of a life that had lost much of its meaning. So I did something radical: I walked away. This isn't a fairy-tale spiritual awakening. It's the messy, painful, triumphant story of a woman who chose to put one foot in front of the other when giving up felt easier.
I battled brutal weather, crippling self-doubt, and physical pain while discovering that sometimes you have to get completely lost to find your way home. In this book, I share hard-won lessons from three solo pilgrimages - The Pilgrims' Way, The St Cuthbert's Way, and the Camino de Santiago. Part memoir, part practical guide, wholly inspiring-this book will resonate with anyone who has ever felt stuck, scared, or searching for something more.
Part 1 goes into practical and spiritual preparation before pilgrimage, including how to make decisions about the route and whether to walk solo, as well as what to take with you, and how to face the fears that might hold you back. Part 2 covers the journey itself with the practicalities of the pilgrim's day, as well as how walking the path of history and facing the challenge of the way can give you much-needed perspective on life - and perhaps even a glimpse of the divine.
Part 3 addresses the arrival at your destination, and how to leave room for the gifts of pilgrimage to emerge after your return home, as well as how my three walks impacted my experience of mid-life. At the end, you'll find appendices with practical tips for each of the three ways, as well as a gear list and bibliography for further reading. Transformation doesn't require a complete life overhaul-sometimes it just requires the courage to take the first step.
Because when everything else fails, you can always walk.