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The Way, My Way
“I’d never done anything crazy like this before – a pilgrimage walk. I was not a hiker, and I wasn’t a Catholic. In fact, I wasn’t even sure I was a Christian. On the last government census when I had to state my religion, I'd said I was a Buddhist, mainly because they’ve had such a hard time in Tibet and I felt they needed my statistical support. I was also not an adventure traveller. For me, adventure travel was flying coach. All this backpacking and wearing of heavy boots and flying off to France to walk ancient pilgrimage routes was a new experience, and not one that made me feel entirely comfortable.” And so Bill Bennett, an Australian based film director, set off on an 800 kilometre walk across Spain to Santiago de Compostela, not sure why he was doing it, and not feeling entirely comfortable. His discomfort increased markedly a few days later when his knee gave out – so the rest of the walk was a “pain management pilgrimage.” But he kept his sense of humour, and his memoir is at times hilarious but also deeply moving, and insightful. In the vein of Bill Bryson and Eric Newby, The Way, My Way takes you on a unique spiritual journey, and gives you a hearty laugh along the way.
300 pages, Paperback
First published September 19, 2013
73 people are currently reading
655 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
March 8, 2015
Quick easy read - written by an almost 60 year old Australian who opts to do the legendary Camino. Entertaining account of author's walk - Epilogue summarizes what Bill learned. I liked these conclusions directly quoted from Bennett's epilogue:
The Power of Increments
I learned I could achieve big goals by taking small steps. A lot of small steps. But only if I didn't give up until I reached my goal.
My Possessions are my burden:
I carried everything I needed on my back. Up and down mountains, across plains, over rivers.
My possessions were my burden. Anything unnecessary was an unnecessary burden. It's the same in life. My possessions are by burden.
I bring forth what I fear most:
I learnt that what I fear the most, I bring into my life........what I fear, I attract.
The worst that can happen isn't so bad:
I discovered a magic mantra. What's the worst that can happen.Say that, and my fear disappears. Because the worst that can happen invariably isn't so bad after all. I can deal with it. So why should I live in fear?
Enjoyed reading about how the author learned these and many more lessons on his pilgrimage.
The Power of Increments
I learned I could achieve big goals by taking small steps. A lot of small steps. But only if I didn't give up until I reached my goal.
My Possessions are my burden:
I carried everything I needed on my back. Up and down mountains, across plains, over rivers.
My possessions were my burden. Anything unnecessary was an unnecessary burden. It's the same in life. My possessions are by burden.
I bring forth what I fear most:
I learnt that what I fear the most, I bring into my life........what I fear, I attract.
The worst that can happen isn't so bad:
I discovered a magic mantra. What's the worst that can happen.Say that, and my fear disappears. Because the worst that can happen invariably isn't so bad after all. I can deal with it. So why should I live in fear?
Enjoyed reading about how the author learned these and many more lessons on his pilgrimage.
March 6, 2024
This is one of the better self-published books written by Camino pilgrims. Mr. Bennett took me right back to my own experience on the Camino... the various terrains (from easy to challenging, from city to forest), the amazing people we meet from all over the world, the food, the albergues, the meandering thoughts, like, "why am I doing this?" and the recognition that the Camino is often a life-altering experience. The reason I read this book is that I heard Bill Bennett is making a film of his Camino. He's a successful filmmaker from Australia, so I have high hopes for this film. Thanks for sharing your experience, Mr. Bennett! Buen Camino!
April 27, 2014
I've been reading Camino memoirs like mad and this is one of my two favorites to date. The Aussie film director reports on his journey in a way that is both humorous and inspiring. When I do the Camino, I hope I meet someone like Bill on my journey.
March 13, 2015
Witty sarcasm oozes through this book. I belly laughed and then read excerpts to my spouse as we drove along. I have no interest in walking the Camino but several friends recently have made the pilgrimage, Spanish was my major and I have been to Spain twice so I thought it would be an interesting read. Immediately, I identified with the author as I will never go camping again in my life unless there is room service and a king size bed. The author had similar tastes as he was used to five star hotels and porters. So, why did he embark on this challenge? I think because he was competitive and like a mountain, the Camino was there. Bennett is not a particularly religious or spiritual person so there were not many philosophical wanderings. He did talk to himself a lot and it was helpful that his monologues were italicized in the text. At the end, he listed lessons learned which were simple but brilliant. I believe it is called self-actualization!
August 13, 2015
This could have been a long walk anywhere at all. The author might as well have stayed in Australia.
April 4, 2019
I finished Bill Bennett's memoir of walking El Camino and I loved it, from start to finish. When I closed the book after reading the Epilogue, I hugged the book to my chest. What a journey! 'The Way, My Way' describes the adventure of discovery that this pilgrimage has in store for the body, mind and soul in such wonderful detail, I did feel I was there. Bill's learnings at the end of the book were insightful and a reminder to us all that there is a lot of wonder to behold, both externally and internally if we stop and listen to our PGS, our Personal Guidance System.
For me, the book was contemplative, humourous, wise, relatable and beautifully told. A true story of the depths we can go within ourselves to achieve something life-changing.
And this passage from the book made me stop and reflect on my own life:
"Whatever fear I faced, I realised the anxiety over that fear was worse than the fear itself.... Because invariably, the worst was never as bad as the fear warranted. What's the worst that can happen?"
Bill faced his fears on the Camino walk and wrote about his experience.
This was a cracker of a read.
For me, the book was contemplative, humourous, wise, relatable and beautifully told. A true story of the depths we can go within ourselves to achieve something life-changing.
And this passage from the book made me stop and reflect on my own life:
"Whatever fear I faced, I realised the anxiety over that fear was worse than the fear itself.... Because invariably, the worst was never as bad as the fear warranted. What's the worst that can happen?"
Bill faced his fears on the Camino walk and wrote about his experience.
This was a cracker of a read.
May 21, 2018
Eén van de leukere boeken in het 'Santiago de Compostela' genre. De bijna zestigjarige, absoluut niet fitte Bill, gaat op pelgrimage naar Santiago. Zijn persoonlijke verslag vol zelfspot is heerlijk vlot geschreven. Aanrader.
November 15, 2015
This is a delightful read. I did not want to leave Bill's adventures behind, so one rainy Sunday I read it all. Poignant and insightful, at times laugh-out-loud funny, this book is hard to put down.
March 12, 2024
A lively and ludicrous account of walking the Camino Frances and reluctantly learning and growing through the experience. The movie is just weeks away. Very entertaining.
April 6, 2019
An Opinel Knife and your PGS and away you go, one step at a time.
May 22, 2024
Looking forward to seeing this new film and doing the Camino one day.
October 5, 2021
Great read, whether walking The Camino or not.
For some unknown reason, I have a compelling desire to walk the Camino. Bill's forthright telling of his Pilgrimage helped me to realize that I don't actually need to know that reason and that at some point all will be revealed.
I would consider this a must-read for anybody considering the Camino or any other sort of Pilgrimage. Bill exposes both the beauty and hardship, as well as the almost-certain deep dive into one's own psyche, these sorts of journeys open us up to.
Written with deep honesty, a bit of suspense and speckled with his wry sense of humor, The Way, My Way turns out to be quite the page turner.
For some unknown reason, I have a compelling desire to walk the Camino. Bill's forthright telling of his Pilgrimage helped me to realize that I don't actually need to know that reason and that at some point all will be revealed.
I would consider this a must-read for anybody considering the Camino or any other sort of Pilgrimage. Bill exposes both the beauty and hardship, as well as the almost-certain deep dive into one's own psyche, these sorts of journeys open us up to.
Written with deep honesty, a bit of suspense and speckled with his wry sense of humor, The Way, My Way turns out to be quite the page turner.
June 11, 2018
Great read! I loved this book from the first page to the last, and I was sorry it wasn’t longer. The first few paragraphs made me laugh out loud. The gentle self-deprecating humour is delightful. As the author travels further into his journey the writing becomes deeper, but still documenting the funny moments. The best thing about this book (for me) is that it has built my confidence in tackling ‘The Way’. Great read!!!
September 10, 2015
Hilarious account of this man's trek along the Camino. I laughed and cried. His accounts were so vivid, I can't decide now if I still want to do the pilgrimage blisters and all, or stay safely in Santiago while I wait for my husband to complete it without me. Thanks for the entertaining and honest book, Mr. Bennett!
September 5, 2017
I must say this is one of the best books about the actual journey and what it's like to walk the Camino. This is not a guide or a history book which I found appealing, It's about the people you meet and friendships you form.
It was also nice to meet Bill in person at Blackheath, supporters of the Camino.
It was also nice to meet Bill in person at Blackheath, supporters of the Camino.
January 5, 2021
Received this book for Christmas, as one who has on a few occasions walked the Camino de Santiago, I can say that Bill Bennett captures its essence perfectly. This book is interesting, funny and instructive all in one, I would recommend {and have} to friends, and to anyone else whether they have walked the Camino or not, great read 😁🤣👍
January 23, 2018
Bill Bryson has a rival! Hilarious book about walking The Camino. Absolutely loved it!
May 6, 2023
I read it in one day. Couldn't put it down. Funny, reflective, emotional. A great read
October 25, 2020
I loved this book. author Bill Bennett is a funny, charismatic and a likeable guy. Easy to follow and well written.
I was beginning to notice that some pilgrims on the Camino seemed to be fixated with getting to the next village or town, or completing the day’s stage, to the exclusion of everything else. They didn’t indulge in small talk, they didn’t stop in the villages, they certainly didn’t go into any of the churches or check out the monuments. They walked. They walked fast, refusing to be distracted by the magnificence of the history and culture around them.
Each town had its must-stay albergue, usually determined by posts and reviews on Camino online forums. Many pilgrims had computer print-out lists of these albergues, and I discovered they would often plan their itineraries days ahead so that they can stay at these celebrated places. There were about half a dozen such albergues on the Camino, yet I didn’t have a clue which they were or where they were – I just knew that some pilgrims got into a cold sweat when they thought they might miss out on a bed if they arrived late. This to me was muddle-headed. It placed an immediate tension on the day’s walk. It affected the thinking of the pilgrim from the moment they woke up. I must leave early, I must walk fast today so that I get to the cool albergue in time, otherwise I won’t get a bed. For the whole day, they’re walking in fear. Fear of missing out. Fear of not being one of the lucky ones that gets to stay in the albergue that everyone’s been talking about. Fear of not having that great Camino experience.
I began to learn that none of us should pass judgment, because every experience is different for every pilgrim. No one experience is definitive. As well, I began to realise there was more to learn by not following the throng – by following my own heartbeat, even if that meant I ended up at a place others might consider unfit for pilgrim habitation. So what if the bathroom is faulty? So what if the hospitaleros don’t turn on the heat at night because they want to save on the power bill? There’s more to be learnt in adversity than there is in comfort.
True pilgrims don’t judge. They accept. They don’t put themselves above anyone else by regarding that person as somehow lesser. I recalled the dictionary definition of a pilgrim: A traveller from afar who is on a journey to a holy place.
The first stage from St. Jean is representative of Life; full of highs and lows, joy and despair, strong emotions. The second stage is the Meseta, which is Death. Vast, limitless, serene and transcendent. The third stage, into Santiago, is Rebirth. After your life, after your death, as you reach Santiago, you are reborn into a new You.
Whatever fear I faced, I realised the anxiety over that fear was worse than the fear itself.
For me, the Meseta proved to be transcendent. I loved its clear straight lines. I loved its expansiveness. I loved its solitude. It was the place where I came closest to the true nature of the Camino. It’s where I felt the presence of energies and influences beyond my understanding. It had laid me bare. And in that naked state, as though I were a new-born, I’d begun to believe there could be a God. Because that’s when the Camino really started to work its magic on me.
I also observed the way they greeted each other, their elation at meeting someone they obviously hadn’t seen in a long time; their camaraderie, their strong ties, their social groupings. I noticed that they all looked happy. They all glowed, with some strange ethereal light. They all seemed imbued with a spiritual energy.
Before I started the Camino, there were a few things I was looking forward to – climbing over the Pyrenees, walking across the Meseta, and sleeping in the monastery in Samos.
I was beginning to notice that some pilgrims on the Camino seemed to be fixated with getting to the next village or town, or completing the day’s stage, to the exclusion of everything else. They didn’t indulge in small talk, they didn’t stop in the villages, they certainly didn’t go into any of the churches or check out the monuments. They walked. They walked fast, refusing to be distracted by the magnificence of the history and culture around them.
Each town had its must-stay albergue, usually determined by posts and reviews on Camino online forums. Many pilgrims had computer print-out lists of these albergues, and I discovered they would often plan their itineraries days ahead so that they can stay at these celebrated places. There were about half a dozen such albergues on the Camino, yet I didn’t have a clue which they were or where they were – I just knew that some pilgrims got into a cold sweat when they thought they might miss out on a bed if they arrived late. This to me was muddle-headed. It placed an immediate tension on the day’s walk. It affected the thinking of the pilgrim from the moment they woke up. I must leave early, I must walk fast today so that I get to the cool albergue in time, otherwise I won’t get a bed. For the whole day, they’re walking in fear. Fear of missing out. Fear of not being one of the lucky ones that gets to stay in the albergue that everyone’s been talking about. Fear of not having that great Camino experience.
I began to learn that none of us should pass judgment, because every experience is different for every pilgrim. No one experience is definitive. As well, I began to realise there was more to learn by not following the throng – by following my own heartbeat, even if that meant I ended up at a place others might consider unfit for pilgrim habitation. So what if the bathroom is faulty? So what if the hospitaleros don’t turn on the heat at night because they want to save on the power bill? There’s more to be learnt in adversity than there is in comfort.
True pilgrims don’t judge. They accept. They don’t put themselves above anyone else by regarding that person as somehow lesser. I recalled the dictionary definition of a pilgrim: A traveller from afar who is on a journey to a holy place.
The first stage from St. Jean is representative of Life; full of highs and lows, joy and despair, strong emotions. The second stage is the Meseta, which is Death. Vast, limitless, serene and transcendent. The third stage, into Santiago, is Rebirth. After your life, after your death, as you reach Santiago, you are reborn into a new You.
Whatever fear I faced, I realised the anxiety over that fear was worse than the fear itself.
For me, the Meseta proved to be transcendent. I loved its clear straight lines. I loved its expansiveness. I loved its solitude. It was the place where I came closest to the true nature of the Camino. It’s where I felt the presence of energies and influences beyond my understanding. It had laid me bare. And in that naked state, as though I were a new-born, I’d begun to believe there could be a God. Because that’s when the Camino really started to work its magic on me.
I also observed the way they greeted each other, their elation at meeting someone they obviously hadn’t seen in a long time; their camaraderie, their strong ties, their social groupings. I noticed that they all looked happy. They all glowed, with some strange ethereal light. They all seemed imbued with a spiritual energy.
Before I started the Camino, there were a few things I was looking forward to – climbing over the Pyrenees, walking across the Meseta, and sleeping in the monastery in Samos.
December 27, 2024
Australian filmmaker Bill Bennett has written an engaging, easy-to-read Camino account of his journey as a pilgrim. A film based on the book is already available in Australia and will be released in the United States in early 2025. As I read, I could easily visualize many scenes and encounters with the people he meets as a movie. This was Bennett’s first book, written with a filmmaker’s eye. His story proceeds chronologically, with a few flashbacks to earlier experiences, and includes many conversations with himself, which add depth to the story. I laughed and cried, recognizing many of my own pilgrim experiences. One of the techniques I enjoyed was his use of italics rather than quotation marks to represent his conversations with himself and with others. From the very beginning, he wonders, Why am I doing this? After walking seven or eight Caminos, I’m still asking myself that question. Bennett, like me, found the experience transformative, although the why and how may always remain mysteries of the Camino and perhaps any pilgrimage. In a concise eleven-point epilogue, he summarizes what he learned – lessons that will elicit nods of recognition from many pilgrims.
July 31, 2024
Having seen the movie, I was curious about the book. Not many self-published books make it into film, but Bennett had an edge. He is a filmmaker. As both author and filmmaker, he could ensure the movie version followed the book closely. One jarring note was the lead character in the movie. Bennett was 59 when he undertook the journey. Watching the film, I had him pegged for someone in his early seventies.
As Bennett makes clear, not everyone who walks the Camino is a pilgrim. He was not even sure why he was so intent on doing it, but once he made it a goal, he could not be talked out of it. Not even serious walking issues could dissuade him. In both the film and the book, he is something of a self-centered curmudgeon. The long walk did not change his basic personality, but it did soften his edges a bit and made him more open to his fellow pilgrims.
Kudos to Bennett for believing in his book, getting it written, and then shepherding it into a film.
As Bennett makes clear, not everyone who walks the Camino is a pilgrim. He was not even sure why he was so intent on doing it, but once he made it a goal, he could not be talked out of it. Not even serious walking issues could dissuade him. In both the film and the book, he is something of a self-centered curmudgeon. The long walk did not change his basic personality, but it did soften his edges a bit and made him more open to his fellow pilgrims.
Kudos to Bennett for believing in his book, getting it written, and then shepherding it into a film.
August 8, 2024
THE WAY-MY WAY, a book about The human spirit and determination to fulfill a dream.
Bill Bennett’s book, THE WAY MY WAY, Is a must read for anyone Who is considering taking on a monumental adventure for the very first time in their lives.
Mr. Bennett’s style of writing allows a person To be inside Bill‘s head as he faces the challenges of an 800 km hike on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage each and every day for the next 30 days.
Bill Bennett starts this trip with uncertainty and questions that he will ultimately answer at the end of his pilgrimage, coming out the other side as a new and better person for having made this pilgrimage.
By the end of this read, you will have a better understanding of what the human spirit and determination can accomplish when facing life challenges on a daily basis.
Bill Bennett’s book, THE WAY MY WAY, Is a must read for anyone Who is considering taking on a monumental adventure for the very first time in their lives.
Mr. Bennett’s style of writing allows a person To be inside Bill‘s head as he faces the challenges of an 800 km hike on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage each and every day for the next 30 days.
Bill Bennett starts this trip with uncertainty and questions that he will ultimately answer at the end of his pilgrimage, coming out the other side as a new and better person for having made this pilgrimage.
By the end of this read, you will have a better understanding of what the human spirit and determination can accomplish when facing life challenges on a daily basis.
January 27, 2025
This was overall quite a fun, light-hearted recount of the author's Camino walk, while still allowing for some moments of real reflection and authentic gratitude for the experience. Unfortunately, the inclusion of a single line midway through that poked fun at an Asian accent was really uncomfortable for me and completely unnecessary to the vignette he was describing - I gather this book was self-published, and I'd hope an editor would have suggested this line not be rendered as is. Apparently a revised 10th anniversary edition has been published - hopefully this has been left out. Other than this and a few other brief, awkward comments, this was quite an entertaining read and I had to stop myself from dashing into making plans to walk the Camino throughout much of the book. Definitely something I'm keeping in mind though...
December 10, 2017
Bennett’s book was on my wish list and was gifted to me by my daughter for my birthday. I read it in 3 days, each time I put it down, excited to come back to it as quickly as possible.
Bennett provides such great nuggets in this book that I found myself sharing passages on social media and even reading sections to my yoga students. Such as « What just happened today? I walked without fear. »
As someone who is a Camino section pilgrim, I look forward to my next « leg, » in part thanks to Bennett.
Writing a memoir is opening up the deepest recesses of your emotional being and thoughts to the public. I appreciate and am thankful Bennett shared his with us readers, so we could see his transformation.
Bennett provides such great nuggets in this book that I found myself sharing passages on social media and even reading sections to my yoga students. Such as « What just happened today? I walked without fear. »
As someone who is a Camino section pilgrim, I look forward to my next « leg, » in part thanks to Bennett.
Writing a memoir is opening up the deepest recesses of your emotional being and thoughts to the public. I appreciate and am thankful Bennett shared his with us readers, so we could see his transformation.
October 2, 2020
What I was looking for
I have been interested in doing the Camino for some months, done my YouTube research and article reading, and looking for books. I started a few including this one, and ultimately came back to this one after reading Coelho's The Pilgrimage. Bill Bennet's tale, despite his familiar ockerisms (I'm Australian too), was what I was looking for - the spirituality, the physicality, the friends, his wife, the food and alcohol, the monasteries and towns, the landscapes. Maybe because I'm nearly the same age when I read it. It was just what I needed to cement in my own mind that I would one day too, soon hopefully, walk the way.
I have been interested in doing the Camino for some months, done my YouTube research and article reading, and looking for books. I started a few including this one, and ultimately came back to this one after reading Coelho's The Pilgrimage. Bill Bennet's tale, despite his familiar ockerisms (I'm Australian too), was what I was looking for - the spirituality, the physicality, the friends, his wife, the food and alcohol, the monasteries and towns, the landscapes. Maybe because I'm nearly the same age when I read it. It was just what I needed to cement in my own mind that I would one day too, soon hopefully, walk the way.
March 8, 2024
I will be walking and hiking the 500 mile Camino de Santiago this year and I have been devouring as many Camino memoirs as I can find. Bill Bennett's Camino memoir, The Way, My Way, is one of the best ones I have read.
Bennett's writing style is filled with wit and self-deprecating humor. His knee gives out and he describes the Camino as a "pain management pilgrimage."
I recently learned that his film about his Camino experience is now available in Australia and New Zealand. I will continue to look for its arrival in the US.
Bennett's writing style is filled with wit and self-deprecating humor. His knee gives out and he describes the Camino as a "pain management pilgrimage."
I recently learned that his film about his Camino experience is now available in Australia and New Zealand. I will continue to look for its arrival in the US.
October 12, 2021
Surprisingly thought provoking
I walked the Camino Francés 2 years ago, on my own, from St. Jean Pied de Port. I can relate to much of Bill’s pilgrimage. I just had a map when I started and stayed where I found myself. Later I used a guide book and found out much more about the way as I walked. My journey changed my life. COVID permitting, I will walk another Camino soon. Thanks Bill for helping me revisit a very special time and place.
I walked the Camino Francés 2 years ago, on my own, from St. Jean Pied de Port. I can relate to much of Bill’s pilgrimage. I just had a map when I started and stayed where I found myself. Later I used a guide book and found out much more about the way as I walked. My journey changed my life. COVID permitting, I will walk another Camino soon. Thanks Bill for helping me revisit a very special time and place.
October 10, 2022
DNF’d at 10%
I didn’t exactly choose to pick this up. I’m doing the Camino myself right now and this was on the shelf in one of the albergues. I DNF’d because the author disgusted me. Within the first 20 pages, he manages to cram in tons of sexism and fatphobia on top of just being unlikeable.
The exact thing that made me DNF was him referring to having a bunk in the same communal room as a young woman he found attractive as sleeping with her and how lucky he was. He’s 60. She’s 20. Gross.
I didn’t exactly choose to pick this up. I’m doing the Camino myself right now and this was on the shelf in one of the albergues. I DNF’d because the author disgusted me. Within the first 20 pages, he manages to cram in tons of sexism and fatphobia on top of just being unlikeable.
The exact thing that made me DNF was him referring to having a bunk in the same communal room as a young woman he found attractive as sleeping with her and how lucky he was. He’s 60. She’s 20. Gross.
December 19, 2022
Bennett, an Australian movie maker and writer, undertakes the 500-mile Camino Santiago de Compostela, one of the most famous pilgrimage roads in the world. The people he meets and the things he learns about himself make for very fun and thought-provoking reading. I read this just prior to visiting the Cathedral at the end of the pilgrimage route in Compostela de Santiago, Spain, which made the book extra meaningful.
August 31, 2024
When I started reading this book, I formed the opinion that the writer was a self- indulgent chap. But as I persevered, I did enjoy his account of walking the Camino pilgrimage. It’s an interesting topic, even though I would never contemplate walking 800 kilometres. However, I admire the strength and tenacity of those who do. He says he was completely changed ( for the better) by the experience. Mmm .
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