The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

By Rachel Joyce,

Book cover of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Book description

'Impossible to put down' TIMES
'Life-affirming delight. A comic pleasure' WOMAN AND HOME
'Profoundly moving' RICHARD MADELEY

OVER 4 MILLION COPIES SOLD. SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOVIE STARRING JIM BROADBENT AND PENELOPE WILTON
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When Harold Fry nips out one morning to post a letter, leaving his wife hoovering…

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Why read it?

8 authors picked The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I loved the completely unique plot of this novel; I haven’t read anything quite like it before or since. I was entranced by the story of a completely ordinary person who decided to do something extraordinary, not for attention or fortune, but because they became convinced that if they did, it would save the life of someone they once cared about.

It’s poignant, funny, moving, and I cried more than once. If you like to really feel things when you read a novel, try this one.

From Sarah's list on featuring older protagonist.

I love this book’s sweet Forrest Gump-like charm, about an unremarkable man who embarks on a remarkable journey of faith to help an old friend. Throughout his journey he considers his past and seeks to right old wrongs. As a reader, it was a real delight to “accompany” him on his long march from England up to Scotland to make amends. On his trip, he sees the world in a whole new light, as well as his place in it. I find his insights deeply moving in a quiet but powerful way. 

As a latecomer to long-distance hiking, this book is now one of my all-time favourites. It explores regrets and life's lessons, going beyond Alzheimer's.

One morning, Harold receives a letter from a long-lost woman, informing him of her impending death and wanting to bid farewell. Believing that walking the entire 600-mile journey and answering her in person could save her life, he embarks on this quest wearing only the clothes on his back.

With each step, Harold's past is peeled back, revealing deep wounds and losses that shaped his life and bringing him closer to healing. Along the way, he…

From Vered's list on the light side of Alzheimer’s.

Sor Juana, My Beloved

By MaryAnn Shank,

Book cover of Sor Juana, My Beloved

MaryAnn Shank Author Of Sor Juana, My Beloved

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I once saw a play at the renowned Oregon Shakespeare Theatre. A play about Sor Juana. It was a good play, but it felt like something was missing like jalapenos left out of enchiladas. The play kept nudging me to look further to find Sor Juana, and so for the next five years, I did so. I read and read more. I listened for her voice, and that is where I heard her life come alive. This isn’t the only possibility for Sor Juana’s life; it is just the one I heard.

MaryAnn's book list on the mystical Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz

What is my book about?

Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, this brilliant 17th century nun flew through Mexico City on the breeze of poetry and philosophy. She met with princes of the Church, and with the royalty of Spain and Mexico. Then she met a stunning, powerful woman with lavender eyes, la Vicereine Maria Louisa, and her life changed forever. As her fame grew, she dared to challenge the diabolical Archbishop once too often, and he threw her in front of the Inquisition, where she stood, alone.

Sor Juana's work is studied still today, and justifiably so. Scholars study her months on end; mystics…

Sor Juana, My Beloved

By MaryAnn Shank,

What is this book about?

This astonishingly brilliant 17th century poet and dramatist, this nun, flew through Mexico City on wings of inspiration. Having no dowry, she chose the life of a nun so that she might learn, so that she might write, so that she might meet the most fascinating people of the western world. She accomplished all of that, and more.

One day a woman with violet eyes, eyes the color of passion flowers, entered her life. It was the new Vicereine, Maria Luisa. As the two most powerful women in Mexico City, the bond between them crossed politics and wound them in…


From the whimsical cover to the idea that a seemingly ordinary person is capable of extraordinary deeds (a recurring theme in my own work) I knew instantly this was my kind of novel. Harold Fry, 65, retired and living an unremarkable life in suburbia, sets out to post a letter, and keeps on walking. His stroll to the mailbox turns into a 600-mile pilgrimage – to deliver a letter to a dying woman – and takes in much of the beautiful and familiar landscape of my native Britain. I fell easily into step with this charming character and the community…

Harold Fry sets off on the spur of the moment to trek across England, believing he can save a former colleague with terminal cancer. But that’s not all that needs saving. Rachel Joyce’s distinctive voice makes me feel as if she’s sitting next to me, telling the story, and from time to time both of us burst out laughing. But this heartwarming novel also made me consider how poignant life is, how we make wrong turns, and how sometimes we feel the urgent need to make up for past mistakes.

This is an incredibly poignant story of an old man who goes out to post a letter but then keeps walking… from Devon all the way up England to Berwick-on-Tweed, on a mission… in his yachting shoes. As he meets and listens to people en route, his own tragic past is gradually revealed. Harold made me sob loudly, but there was something so beautiful about his nonsensical pilgrimage; his patience, gentleness, openness, persistence, and, perhaps above all, his hope.

"He saw that people would make the decisions they wished to make, and some of them would hurt both themselves…

As an intrepid traveler and participant in many a pilgrimage, I was drawn to this title. Opening the book I met the aging Harold Fry – meek, nondescript, ineffectual, indecisive. A man you’d walk past without so much as a second glance. But then Harold does the unimaginable, embarking on an unintended 600 mile walk across England to make closure with an old friend who’s dying. With every step, layer upon layer of Harold’s history is peeled back, revealing the deep wounds and losses that constricted his life. Each painful stride sends Harold both closer to his destination and deeper…

From Barbara's list on transforming suffering.

I loved this book and the poignant journey of self-discovery and healing taken by the title character. One morning, emotionally down-trodden Harold receives a letter from a woman he hasn’t heard from in twenty years, telling him she is dying and wanted to say goodbye. Believing that if he walks all the way and answers her in person, she will live, he sets out on the 600-mile journey with nothing but the clothes he is wearing. Little by little, Ms. Joyce uncovers the joys and heartbreaks of Harold’s life. Though her touch is light and simple, her writing is rich…

From Irene's list on uplifting contemporary novels.

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