This book appears often in lists of books about the Camino. I finally decided to read it. Here are my mixed feelings. The author has written 15 books. All are of a spiritual nature, which is not surprising since Joyce Rupp is a nun. She walks the Camino France´s with her spiritual adviser, who is a priest. Both are from the US. I was hoping for a linear account of their walk. This is not how the book is structured. It is more of a self help manual with examples drawn from their walk to illustrate topics, such as, “Letting Go,” Travelling Light,” “Dealing with Disappointments” etc.
Even these lessons could be enjoyed if the author were one of those lovely nuns whom I remember from my convent education. However, Joyce Rupp, is more of the “Mother Superior” in attitude. It wasn’t so much her religious background, it was more her sense of privilege or her sense of wanting everything to be like it is in the US that made me want to skip over a lot of her irritation with the Camino. That being said, the book is an excellent self help guide. If you are walking the Camino for therapy and lets face it many of us are, then this book is a great starting point.