A Week To Remember: Three strangers, the Camino, one week to change everything

by Ruth O'Leary

'Perfect for fans of Marian Keyes and Carmel Harrington.'

When Strangers Collide, Lives Are Forever Altered.

Paula
Paula has an anxiety attack at her 60th birthday party and realises that her life must change. While her friends are settling into retirement, she craves adventure. Then a shock discovery forces her to question everything she thought was sure in her life.

Rachel
Rachel is about to go into business with boyfriend Craig when he betrays her in the worst way possible. She is desperate to get away and figure out how to move forward. Can she forgive and forget, in order to have everything she has dreamed of?

Cathy
Cathy’s world is turned upside down by a life-altering event. Struggling with her feelings, she sets out to follow in the footsteps of her favourite film, The Way, hoping to find the courage to plan a new life free from fear. As the three women set out on journeys of healing and self-discovery, on the ancient path of the Camino de Santiago, fate causes their paths to cross. Will the Camino provide the answers they seek and the strength to pursue the lives they desire?

Praise for A Week to Remember‘The summer adventure I’d been waiting on, with tons of heart, self-discovery, friendship, and drama along the way’ - Faith Hogan

Genres: Contemporary, Walking, Spain, Fiction, Romance

348 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 4, 2025

Reviews

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. The story follows 3 Irish women, Paula, Cathy, and Rachel, as they travel the Camino to Santiago de Compostela. Each woman had her own life struggles to figure out along this beautiful journey. They discovered who they were, what they wanted, love, and friendships that would last a lifetime. I loved seeing each woman find their path and become a better, stronger version of the women they were before they started this incredible journey. Each chapter focuses on one of the women. I couldn't put the book down and wanted to keep reading until the end. I loved all the characters and the beautiful scenery. I truly felt I was walking along with the women. A Week to Remember is the perfect book to read on a vacation. It is worth all 5 stars!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Abby Wynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun, well written romance novel, with interesting characters and a beautiful setting. I felt like I was there with them. The pace was perfect, I wasn’t bored for a moment. This isn’t my usual genre, it was refreshing to spend a day in their shoes without having to walk the Camino myself no pun intended!

[Mairead Hearne (swirlandthread.com) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Week to Remember by Ruth O’Leary published March 4th with Poolbeg Press and is described as ‘a story of healing, betrayal, and finding courage on the Camino’.

Last year I read Ruth O’Leary’s debut The Weekend Break which was an engaging and emotive tale exploring the value of female friendship. In A Week to Remember Ruth O’Leary decided to write about three strangers who cross paths in a setting beyond Ireland, but she didn’t know where. During her research she happened upon walking holidays and her attention was drawn to the Camino. Having never been there herself, her knowledge was scant, so she booked flights to Santiago de Compostella and began a journey that left an indelible mark on her.

Using her first-hand experience she gathered her research and wrote a novel about three women, Paula, Rachel and Cathy, each at different stages in life, yet all on the Camino for a personal reason. As each embark on a solo journey hoping for answers, they soon discover that the answers they were hoping to find might just be in the most unexpected of places.

With great attention to detail Ruth O’Leary takes the reader on a very immersive journey through the sights and sounds of this infamous trail. Starting in Sarria in Northern Spain Paula, Rachel and Cathy put one foot in front of the other, gathering their thoughts and soaking up the silences with the sun on their faces. With early morning starts and long daily walks across varied terrain, these three once strangers become allies and friends.

With every dawn, a new strength is unveiled as they support each other, provide a listening ear and a shoulder when necessary. They may have started this journey alone but as they arrive in the square of the Cathedral in Santiago, their lives are changed and their eyes are opened.

With stunning descriptions of place, Ruth O’Leary’s passion for travel shines through. The Camino is a trip that many, including myself, hope to conquer some day but, while we wait for that day to arrive, A Week to Remember brings us a little bit closer to that bucket list wish. Paula, Rachel and Cathy are three women at very different points in their lives but they are all looking for something similar, they all need something to change. On this journey of self-discovery, they each learn so much about themselves and how they want to now enjoy their lives. They seek answers and hope to heal but can the Camino provide all the answers?

A Week to Remember is another wonderfully engaging novel. The location is magical and the developing relationship between these three strangers is beautifully depicted. There are some difficult themes throughout but Ruth O’Leary handles them with extreme sensitivity. With a gorgeous cast of characters, a stunning setting and a captivating story A Week to Remember is a really beautiful read, perfect for anyone who dreams of an adventure from their sofa (and I expect that travel agents will see a surge in bookings to Santiago de Compostella too!)

[Gwen Cooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars … easy read and really enjoyed it , probably more so having done a section of the Camino . Nice holiday read !

[Leona · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Week to Remember is the second book by Irish author Ruth O’Leary and what a fantastic read it was. The story centres around three Irish women , Paula, Cathy and Rachel who have absolutely no connection to each other. These three women have travelled to Spain to walk the famous Camino and each of them are taking part for their own personal reasons and just need time to reflect and gather their thoughts together . So walking the Camino seems the perfect thing to do. On the first day of the Camino due to a mix up their paths cross. I’m not going to say too much more about this as I don’t want to give away any spoilers. I just loved every single thing about this book. The wonderful cast of characters who I became attached to as I progressed through the book, I think my favourite was Cathy and how she blossomed as she progressed through the Camino. Each chapter focused on one of the women and at the end of each chapter I just had to keep on reading I was that engrossed. Ruth O’Leary has written this book so well that I actually felt I was there walking the Camino with all the pilgrims. I just love a book that makes me feel I am there in the story and this one certainly made me feel like that. From start to finish this book had me captivated and would be a perfect holiday read. A well deserved 5⭐️ read.

[Joan McNicol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading Irish female authors. This book focuses on 3 Irish women on the Camino to Santiago de Compostela. Perfect combination for me.

[Oonagh Considine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book ! Nice easy read to read in the Irish summer .

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely Easy read to start off the new year.

[Jackie O'Donovan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable holiday read. Great camaraderie and encouragement from strangers and new genuine friendships made. It would def encourage you to try put the Camino on your to do list.

[CJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the characters, the setting, and the storylines; and it proved to be a simple, predictable, and feel-good read.

[Mrs E Durrant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book a pleasure to read

Just completed the Vigo to Santiago Camino Portuguese route with my mum and daughter. Mum is 87, I’m 70 and daughter a mere 47 . The whole 8 days all three of us read your wonderful book on the 8 day walk. We each read 5 chapters a night and then discussed it like a book club the following day. Thank you for keeping us company along the way. It’s been everything you said it was and more. 😄😄

[KanisBookCorner · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️Wow! This book was such a great read. This book follows three women in different paths of their life and each one of them facing different challenges.

We follow Cathy, who has been through a difficult marriage and then she looses someone in her life, and now she is scared of what awaits in her future. We also have Paula, who, as she is turning 60, is feeling lost and feeling like something is missing in her life. Lastly, we have Rachel, in her 30s and getting ready to leaver her job and follow her dream of owning her business and moving in with her partner. But, as she is getting ready to celebrate, she uncovers a truth that changes her course in her journey.

They all decide to go on a pilgrimage to El Camino, in Spain where they go through a journey to uncover their true selfs and grow into stronger women. It was so beautiful to follow along their journey. You feel like you are walking with them, and cheer them on to reach their goal. What surprised me was that, towards the end, the author throws us a major twist involving one of the women, that leaves you shocked, at least I know I was. 😳 It was a slow start, but great ending.

[Sue Maloney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made me want more.

Enjoyed the vicarious journey to the Camino. Loved the characters and tying up untidy lives. Highly recommend, a good read.

[Nicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!
It’s told from the point of view of three Irish women, Paula, Cathy, and Rachel, as they spend a week walking along the Camino de Santiago in Spain, a very famous hiking route in Europe. Each woman is at a different point in their lives and the time on the Camino helps to make important decisions.
I loved the three women, and really enjoyed following them on their physical and emotional journeys during their week on Camino.
I identified more with Paula, but I appreciated Cathy and Rachel’s points of view. The character development was really good, as were the twists and turns as they got closer to the Cathedral in Santiago. There were some dark moments, but also some laugh out loud ones too, especially with Rachel’s friend Charley.
Ruth O’Leary is a new-to-me author, and I’ll definitely be looking out for her books.
Highly recommended if you enjoy contemporary feel good fiction set in Europe.
Book 16 of 20 Books of Summer 2025

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three women who are struggling in life take a trip to Spain to walk the Camino. The one week walk of over 60 miles helps each woman reconcile life and where they are. The story was well written. I felt each woman was relatable and liked how they used the week walking to come to terms with life. I enjoyed this story and felt that the plot was well developed.

[Nicola Whelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolutely brilliant book! The author is perfect in illustrating her characters and their life goals. It is a fast moving book and they all reached their goal of walking the Camino. It’s very inspiring!

[Alex McFadden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding

Absolutely one of the best books I have read in a very long time.

Thank you so much.

Wee Alexxx

[mary kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

All I want now is to get walking shoes and book my flights. It's a great story and such fabulous characters

[Alison Windmill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing I loved loved loved this book !

This book made me watch the film the way and has made me laugh and cry ! I loved it ! Get writing Ruth Oleary!

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like getting on a aeroplane and flying there made me so relaxed reading it love the way she met so many good people and became so good friends highly recommened gave it 5 stars

[Gemma Brophy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read, enjoyable

[Kathy Moody · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books

Well written, love the story, The Camino, and all the descriptions. Would love to walk it. And, meet these friends

[Olga Tsaryk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. I read it as I walked the same Camino as the characters in the book.

[Helen Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend! Loved the characters throughout the book and a few twists and turns.
Learnt so much too!

[Nancy Price · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Mark taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Women’s fiction novel with universal appeal.

A Week To Remember is the second novel by the Irish writer Ruth O'Leary and is the story of 3 strangers, Paula, Rachel and Cathy who each have their own issues decide to walk part of the Camino, a christian pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern spain

It is not uncommon to read the synopsis of a book that tells the story of three women, to find out that the book is either about the complications of a long term friendship, from secrets and lies which becomes the basis for the story.

In other novels the story becomes how these strangers go on to kill their husbands in a convolutive revenge plot.

However in A Week to Remember we have a story of 3 women who become friends while doing a pilgrimage, that help each other solve the issues that brought them there.

The three women involved all have varying issues from Paula who at 60 is unsure of what happens next. Via Rachel whose plan to start a dream business is halted suddenly by revelations in her personal life, And, finally we have Cathy who is struggling with lack of confidence, after a life changing event.

With the novel, A Week to Remember is laid out in individual chapters as 1 of the 3 women deals with their own issues. There is a danger that Ruth O’Leary’s novel could become disjointed, however there are a number of things that really keep this story together.

The Camino
As the book is set around this pilgrimage/walk is the goal that each of the 3 women have, it would be very easy to overlook this as what nits the story together.

However, The Camino really does help bring the whole story together, with both the natural scenery along with towns and villages along the way really does give the story a sense of place.

People
While the story does have three main characters that forms a bulk of the story, the additional characters that are met along the journey no matter if they are just in the novel for a couple of pages, or are more significant to the novel add a depth to the story which otherwise would be lacking.

The Friendship
While Ruth O’Leary’s novel is about these 3 individuals working on a number of issues individually, there could be a danger that it could become more of a short story collection than a full flagged novel.

However with the friendship that Rachel, Cathy and Paula form over the novel, even though their lives seem to be so much more different from the outside, really does take the novel way beyond separate short stories to a fully fledged novel.

A Week to remember is one of those novels that is a story that as a reader fulfils the criteria for being a true women's fiction novel. Not just because it is a novel that has three main characters that are female.

But if you change the gender of the 3 main characters you would need to rewrite a vast majority of the novel.

This is not to say that A Week To Remember is not a universal story and can only be read by females, as it does cover hopes and fears and realities that are universal to all genders.

All this is to say that A Week To Remember by Ruth O’Leary is well worth reading.


I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kate Tobin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Camino is a Pilgrim Walk in Spain, I always wanted to Do it but Sadly I was Diagnosed with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis so I did it in Spirit as I read this book. It starts with Three Irish Females who arrive at the start of the Pilgrimage as Strangers, each bringing their life experiences, along the way they meet People from their past and throughout the Weeks Walk a Friendship builds up as they each face the circumstances that brought them to the Camino.
This week as lived by the Three main characters draws you into their lives. You start this Walk carrying a Stone in your pocket and you will find the place near the end of the Walk where you will be able to leave it, You say some of what the Stone symbolises and You place it on the pile of stones that are beneath a large Cross. This Symbol means that the Burden that you began the journey with is now going to be resolved on your return home.
This Week and Journey changed the lives of the people who we meet on the journey. Their Stories are heart breaking and life changing, Ruth keeps The Story alive right up until the end , This has a meeting of the Group but not in Dublin rather in Cork. One person is mentioned in Passing throughout the Story but A short piece near the end told me of something that I hadn't expected but now I want to know where it will go. Like The Weekend Break, This Short Time frame gave me an insight into the Lives of a group of people who left me wanting to know what they do next.

[Kieran Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The three women in A Week to Remember are realised with delicacy and delight by Ruth O’Leary. They moan when their feet hurt, they delight when a glass of white is on offer. They open up for each other when in need, but respect their differences. The ordinariness of the women makes their individual challenges all the more real. For their stories alone, the book is well worth the read.
However it is the fourth character, the Camino itself, which makes this book so enjoyable. You are there at every moment: you feel the pain walking up a 52-step stone stair at the end of a 22 km hike. You rejoice at the view from the top of a hard fought hill. When one of their knees swell up you are caught up in the concern.
I challenge you to read this book and not want to run straight out and book your flights.

[Valerie Campbell Ackroyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story, great setting

Like a couple of characters in the story, I have watched the movie “The Way” with Martin Sheen about a man who undertakes the long pilgrim trek on the Camino de Santiago. I was also drawn to the characters themselves, middle aged irishwomen who were walking part of the Camino for different reasons.
I found the story slow going at first, enjoyed the middle toward the end. The last part, the Epilogue, didn’t draw me too much as I really don’t care much about romance. I did however very much enjoy how O’Leary described the Camino and the towns that the women stopped in. I doubt I myself will ever walk the Camino but after reading the book I could almost feel that I had. And that felt good.

[Michelle Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book 10/10 bought back so many good memories , the characters are so special, I walked this route and it is so special , I met so many amazing people on my travels also going solo, it's something ill will keep with me for ever , was asked tonight at a family gathering what's the one place if you only had 1 choice to visit again what would it be and that would be the Camino Francis . Would highly recommend this book for everyone looking for a push to try something solo totally out of their comfort zone, it a great read, page turner you will not want to put it down, its the 2nd book from Ruth, Weekend To Remember was also a great read ,they visit two of my favourite countries in Ireland Galway and Wexford