I really enjoyed Carolyn Gillespie’s book. I wasn’t sure I would at first because she does the Camino France´s from St Jean Pied de Port with a friend, in fact, several friends who come and go at various points along the trail. I was hoping to find another author that was walking alone, as I will be.
The book, though, is really about her journey. At the age of 46 and sometime just before the pandemic, Carolyn sets out in early Spring to “look for something.” She too develops “bad legs” and is on pain killers most of the journey. However, she walks the entire way, carrying her backpack, staying a good deal of the time in hostels and enjoying the people she meets along the way
She is also Scottish, a mother (two children), Catholic and a former teacher. Second only to Jennifer Lash’s book, Carolyn’s is the most religious in nature, that I have read so far. The author attends almost every Pilgrim mass, blessing and confession that is offered. There is also a real symbiosis between her and her walking companion, who is not Catholic. The book, Pilgrim, re-enforces the spiritual, yet personal bonding that happens on the Way.
It’s a lovely read from a female perspective. I highly recommend it.