As a kid, I hated the outdoors, hated change, hated discomfort. Imagine my surprise when, in 2004, without an iota of expertise, I decided to hike Spain’s Camino de Santiago de Compostela. It was life-changing and world-opening on so many levels. Since then, I’ve written five best-selling journey memoirs, two of which have been nominated for awards. I read just about anything but I am particularly drawn to stories about those who leave the comfort of their homes to go and live another life. We all think of doing it; few of us actually do.
By Jane Christmas
All journeys consist of a metaphysical and a physical aspect: There’s the part of the journey that requires plane tickets, passports, various logistics, and lists of what to pack; then there’s the part that you might not have considered—the reason for the journey, the expectations loaded into your subconscious, the awe and veiled disapproval of those you’ve told about your trip. What The Psychic Told the Pilgrim is about a pilgrimage, but it’s also about prickly relationships and the politics of women; about walking a path you never knew existed much less knew that you had to walk it. It’s about trusting the goosebumps on your arm, of trusting intuition. What happens when you take the road less travelled?
When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.
By Jill Frayne
Your marriage is over and your child is heading off to university. What to do? Why, you get in your car and drive nearly 6,000 km from Toronto to the Yukon. This lyrical, enchanting memoir of a mid-life journey tugs at the soul. What strikes me the most about it is the courage of its author to go it alone.
When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.
By Ernest Hemingway
I am not a huge fan of Hemingway, but A Moveable Feast, published posthumously, took my breath away. It’s not the literary name-dropping; it’s the depiction of Paris, between 1921 and 1926, when it was run by artists and vagabonds, not the glitterati. I read this in Paris under duress; I wasn’t even keen on Paris for that matter. This book changed all that the moment I read its opening line: ‘Then there was the bad weather.’
When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.
By Thomas Merton
Admittedly, a book about a womanizing druggie who finds God and goes off to be a Trappist monk sounds trite. But this is the real deal, mainly due to Merton’s candidness, but also to his beautiful writing. Though published in 1948, it feels entirely modern. There’s a journey here but you’ll remember the interior one more than the exterior one.
When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.
By Patti Smith
Patti Smith’s pale scowl and dark music always scared me a little. Then I picked up this book on a personal dare. It changed everything. Lyrical and touching, this memoir delves into Greenwich Village circa the ‘60s to the late ‘70s and chronicles Smith’s relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe. Mostly it reveals the heart of a kind, creative artist. Smith will win you over.
When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.
By Guy Stagg
In 2013, Guy Stagg set off from Canterbury and walked all the way to Jerusalem to heal himself from depression. He travelled without belief and without support, trusting entirely on the generosity of strangers. The weird and the wonderful came through for him. Funny, fascinating, and personal.
When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.
