Pilgrimage: An Annotated Bibliography, Part 1

Pilgrimage: A Medieval Cure for Modern Ills, available for pre-order on Kindle now, available for free through Kindle Unlimited, available in paperback on January 6!

I have a new book coming out on January 6. Did you know that? In case you didn’t, let me write that again: I have a new book coming out on January 6. Click the link above (or this link right here, or this one in the UK, or this one in Australia, or…) to learn more about my new book coming out on January 6.

This book is built upon the stories of many other pilgrims, some of whom I’ve only encountered in writing, others that I’ve had the chance to engage with on the Camino Podcast. I want to spotlight those in the days ahead, because these are all worth reading in full. Today, I’ll focus on some of the major narratives that I quoted from the Camino de Santiago and Via Francigena.

From the Camino

Steve Watkins – Pilgrim Strong – Steve was one of my first guests on the Camino Podcast (and also one of the few to return a second time!), as I started recording that on the heels of Steve’s winter pilgrimage, which he actively documented on the American Pilgrims Facebook group. A pilgrim memoir lives or dies on its subject’s candor, and Steve lays himself bare in this account, highlighting the transformative potential of pilgrimage. What stood out to me most on re-read, in service to Pilgrimage, is Steve’s description of the community formed on pilgrimage.

Beth Jusino – Walking to the End of the World – Beth joined Steve and me in that second podcast experience. While I don’t spend a ton of time with her book in Pilgrimage, I appreciate her account of pilgrimage as an opportunity to refresh / recalibrate, as opposed to a complete reboot. It’s easier to highlight the power of pilgrimage through examples of more pronounced impacts, but Beth’s experience resonates with me and many other pilgrims.

Stephen Drew – Into the Thin – Stephen set forth on the Camino Francés at a crucial and vulnerable moment in his life, and like Steve he practices radical transparency in his narrative account of his journey. In both his book and in our conversation on the podcast, I was struck by Stephen’s ability to articulate the impact of the physical space on the Camino (including those “thin places”) on his own internal journey.

Lee Hoinacki – El Camino – This was one of the earliest pilgrimage memoirs that I read, and I will long regret that Lee had passed before I started the pilgrimage, otherwise I would have loved to speak with him. Lee, a former Dominican priest, shares his experience with the Camino as a religious pilgrimage, and he made me think a lot about walking as an act of faith.

Brad Genereux – A Soldier to Santiago – Brad found the Camino after retiring from the military, amidst an intense personal struggle with transitioning to a different sort of life. In the years since that experience, he has paid it forward by taking other veterans on the Camino, as we talked about on the podcast.

In the book, I brought Cameron Powell’s Ordinary Magic and Landon Roussel’s On the Primitive Way together in a section focused on walking with family, and the power of pilgrimage to serve a reconciliatory function. Landon was another early guest on the podcast, and his memoir is still one of the few focused on the Camino Primitivo.

From the Via Francigena

Kym Wilson – The Path You Make – I had the chance to speak with Kym after following her pilgrimage on her blog, and then had the greater pleasure of reading her book months later. Despite what was ostensibly a successful career, Kym was disenchanted and near breaking point, and so she set out from Canterbury to find her purpose.

Guy Stagg – The Crossway – My conversation with Guy sticks in my mind as one of the best I’ve done on the podcast, thanks in large part to Guy’s insightful responses. And similarly, his memoir is one of the most distinct and captivating I’ve ever read. He doesn’t stop in Rome. He pushes on all the way to Jerusalem… and beyond.

Alice Warrender – An Accidental Jubilee – I had missed Alice’s memoir until writing this book, but I was blown away by her story. She was riding her bike one day, but then passed out and crashed. Miraculously, paramedics, already in the area, found her and provided immediate treatment. Nonetheless, serious brain surgery followed (I guess there probably isn’t non-serious brain surgery). Early in her recovery, Alice learned of the Via Francigena. She was in a hospital bed in February; she set forth from Canterbury in July.

Timothy Egan – A Pilgrimage to Eternity – The most prominent pilgrimage memoir in recent years, given Egan’s high profile, I appreciated reading this alongside of Stagg and Warrender, in particular, as each wrestles with faith and religion in different ways. Egan’s agent turned down my request for an interview.

In the days to come, I’ll highlight some of the other sources included in Pilgrimage.

Pilgrimage: An Annotated Bibliography, Part 1