Thinking of Taking Your Own Unlikely Pilgrimage?

Before taking your own pilgrimage, read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce and take some notes.

Harold Fry has recently retired and is living in a small village in England with his nagging wife, Maureen. One day, he gets a letter from an old coworker, Queenie, who tells him that she’s dying of cancer. Harold immediately decides to write her back. But what exactly is he supposed to say in this letter? Harold isn't quite sure, but he writes a short one anyways. While walking down the street to post the letter, a chance encounter convinces Harold that he must walk to Queenie and give her his letter in person. So, that’s exactly what Harold does. Right then and there, without his cell phone and wearing his yacht shoes, Harold decides to walk 600 miles across England to Queenie. Through meeting stranger after stranger, Harold begins to examine his life and come to grips with who he really is.  

My Items To Note While Taking a Pilgrimage (Learned from Harold Fry)

1. Wear proper shoes

2. Bring sunscreen

3. Don’t try to carry too many things

4. Forget your cell phone

5. Become reliant on the goodness of strangers

The only fault I could find in this book is that Harold Fry is not real and I desperately want him to be. Harold Fry is one of the characters that stays with you for a long time after closing the pages of the book. Be prepared with a box of tissues for the end of the story!

If you’re more of a non-fiction reader, check out some of these books about real people taking their own pilgrimage of sorts before heading out on your own.

   

Any recommendations?

-- Kristen B.

Comments

[kris latimer]

My favorite nonfiction adventure book of all time is "The Long Walk" by Sławomir Rawicz. A Polish POW during WWII escapes and walks over 2000 miles with barely nothing. He walks from Siberia through the Gobi desert, into India. Anytime I a am tired and hot from walking barely a mile, I think of this guy.