What do you think?
Rate this book
Walking to the End of the World: A Thousand Miles on the Camino De Santiago
In April 2015, Beth and Eric Jusino, laden with backpacks and nerves, walked out of a cathedral in the historic village of Le Puy, France, down a cobblestone street, and turned west. Seventy-nine days, a thousand miles, two countries, two mountain ranges, and three pairs of shoes later, they reached the Atlantic Ocean.
More than two million pilgrims have walked the Way of Saint James, a long-distance hiking trail familiar to most Americans by its Spanish name, the Camino de Santiago. Each pilgrim has their own reason for undertaking the journey. For the Jusinos, it was about taking a break from the relentless pace of modern life and getting away from all their electronic devices. And how hard could it be, Beth reasoned, to walk twelve to fifteen miles a day, especially with the promise of real beds and local wine every night? Simple.
It turned out to be harder than she thought. Beth is not an athlete, not into extreme adventures, and, she insists, not a risk-taker. She didn't speak a word of French when she set out, and her Spanish was atrocious. But she can tell a story. In Walking to the End of the World, she shares, with wry humor and infectious enthusiasm, the joys and travails of undertaking such a journey. She evocatively describes the terrain and the route’s history, her fellow pilgrims, and the villages passed, and the unexpected challenges and charms of the experience.
Beth’s story is also about the assurance that an outdoor-based, boundary-stretching adventure is accessible to even the most unlikely of us. In her story, readers will feel that they, too, can get off their comfortable couches and do something unexpected and even spectacular.
Walking to the End of the World is a warm-hearted and engaging story about an average couple going on an adventure together, tracing ancient paths first created in the tenth and eleventh centuries, paths that continue to inspire and reveal surprises to us today in the twenty-first.
More than two million pilgrims have walked the Way of Saint James, a long-distance hiking trail familiar to most Americans by its Spanish name, the Camino de Santiago. Each pilgrim has their own reason for undertaking the journey. For the Jusinos, it was about taking a break from the relentless pace of modern life and getting away from all their electronic devices. And how hard could it be, Beth reasoned, to walk twelve to fifteen miles a day, especially with the promise of real beds and local wine every night? Simple.
It turned out to be harder than she thought. Beth is not an athlete, not into extreme adventures, and, she insists, not a risk-taker. She didn't speak a word of French when she set out, and her Spanish was atrocious. But she can tell a story. In Walking to the End of the World, she shares, with wry humor and infectious enthusiasm, the joys and travails of undertaking such a journey. She evocatively describes the terrain and the route’s history, her fellow pilgrims, and the villages passed, and the unexpected challenges and charms of the experience.
Beth’s story is also about the assurance that an outdoor-based, boundary-stretching adventure is accessible to even the most unlikely of us. In her story, readers will feel that they, too, can get off their comfortable couches and do something unexpected and even spectacular.
Walking to the End of the World is a warm-hearted and engaging story about an average couple going on an adventure together, tracing ancient paths first created in the tenth and eleventh centuries, paths that continue to inspire and reveal surprises to us today in the twenty-first.
321 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 4, 2018
87 people are currently reading
978 people want to read
About the author
Beth Jusino
8 books65 followersBeth Jusino is an award-winning writer, developmental editor, teacher, and publishing consultant with twenty years of experience helping people share better stories. She's also an unlikely pilgrim and thru-hiker who has spent more than 100 days walking Europe's Way of Saint James, better known as the Camino de Santiago. Her thousand-mile trek across France and Spain is the subject of her latest book, Walking to the End of the World.
Beth's books have won the Barbara Savage Miles from Nowhere Award for narrative travel writing and the Independent Publisher Book Award for publishing titles, and have been nominated for the Banff Mountain Book Competition. She's a member of The Authors Guild and the Northwest Editors Guild.
When she's not writing her own works, Beth is a collaborative writer for interesting people with important stories to share. She's worked with authors on everything from business books to memoirs, parenting guides to spiritual self-help.
And if that's not enough to keep her busy, she teaches the crafts of writing and author marketing at dozens of conferences and gatherings each year, gives talks on the Camino de Santiago to outdoor clubs and community groups, and volunteers as a newsletter editor for the American Pilgrims on the Camino.
Beth has held multiple jobs on the business side of book publishing, including as a literary agent and a director of author marketing for an author services company. She has also worked as a writer, editor, and marketer for various nonprofits.
Beth grew up near the New Jersey shore and earned her degree in political science. She and her husband live in Seattle, in easy walking distance of a beach, a coffeeshop, and a brewery, and a short drive from mountain hikes.
You can read more about her passion for pilgrimage at http://caminotimestwo.com and her professional writing and editing at http://bethjusino.com/
Beth's books have won the Barbara Savage Miles from Nowhere Award for narrative travel writing and the Independent Publisher Book Award for publishing titles, and have been nominated for the Banff Mountain Book Competition. She's a member of The Authors Guild and the Northwest Editors Guild.
When she's not writing her own works, Beth is a collaborative writer for interesting people with important stories to share. She's worked with authors on everything from business books to memoirs, parenting guides to spiritual self-help.
And if that's not enough to keep her busy, she teaches the crafts of writing and author marketing at dozens of conferences and gatherings each year, gives talks on the Camino de Santiago to outdoor clubs and community groups, and volunteers as a newsletter editor for the American Pilgrims on the Camino.
Beth has held multiple jobs on the business side of book publishing, including as a literary agent and a director of author marketing for an author services company. She has also worked as a writer, editor, and marketer for various nonprofits.
Beth grew up near the New Jersey shore and earned her degree in political science. She and her husband live in Seattle, in easy walking distance of a beach, a coffeeshop, and a brewery, and a short drive from mountain hikes.
You can read more about her passion for pilgrimage at http://caminotimestwo.com and her professional writing and editing at http://bethjusino.com/
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
September 28, 2023
Beth Jusino and her husband, Eric, decide to temporarily leave their 24/7 screen time lives to walk 1,000 miles on the Camino de Santiago. Their journey is twice as long as the typical pilgrimage of 500 miles from St. Jean Pied de Port in the French Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela. Beth and Eric walked/hiked from Le Puy, France for 500 miles before reaching the French Pyrenees.
I am planning on walking/hiking the 500 mile Camino in 2024. Walking to the End of the World: A Thousand Miles on the Camino De Santiago provides an unvarnished look at what it takes to walk hundreds of miles in various terrain, weather, and with challenging health issues. Jusino provides a suggested packing list which includes her notes on what she used the most as well as what she didn't use or what she considered a luxury packing item (i.e. travel skirt).
One of my favorite passages occurs when they are hiking in a deluge of rain. Jusino wrote, "Like American male carriers, we would not be defeated by wind or rain or darkness."
I am planning on walking/hiking the 500 mile Camino in 2024. Walking to the End of the World: A Thousand Miles on the Camino De Santiago provides an unvarnished look at what it takes to walk hundreds of miles in various terrain, weather, and with challenging health issues. Jusino provides a suggested packing list which includes her notes on what she used the most as well as what she didn't use or what she considered a luxury packing item (i.e. travel skirt).
One of my favorite passages occurs when they are hiking in a deluge of rain. Jusino wrote, "Like American male carriers, we would not be defeated by wind or rain or darkness."
May 10, 2019
I finished Walking to the End of the World several weeks ago, but I am still feeling a reading hangover, so to say – I still wish I was reading it. I keep catching myself stuck in how I imagined the places the book talked about the the way it made me feel. It's like I almost went there myself. If that's not proof of a great book, I don't know what is.
I picked it up over a recommendation by a friend, and also because I had previously read another pilgrimage book that I greatly enjoyed. What appealed to me about Walking to the End of the World was that the author is so much like me: a worrier and an over-planner – I felt an instant connection to the book.
What makes a person with a completely sedentary lifestyle attempt something as extreme as two or three months on your feet in a climate you don't know, in places where nobody can (or won't) even speak your language, and neither can you speak theirs? Walking to the End of the World is a detailed account of the pilgrimage, but it didn't bore me – instead, I felt as if I was walking along with the author and her husband.
If you want to see some illustrations and find out why I connected so well to this one, read the full review here:
I thank Mountaineers Books for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest opinion. Receiving the book for free does not affect my opinion.
Read Post On My Blog | Themed Bookstagram | Quick Update Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter
I picked it up over a recommendation by a friend, and also because I had previously read another pilgrimage book that I greatly enjoyed. What appealed to me about Walking to the End of the World was that the author is so much like me: a worrier and an over-planner – I felt an instant connection to the book.
What makes a person with a completely sedentary lifestyle attempt something as extreme as two or three months on your feet in a climate you don't know, in places where nobody can (or won't) even speak your language, and neither can you speak theirs? Walking to the End of the World is a detailed account of the pilgrimage, but it didn't bore me – instead, I felt as if I was walking along with the author and her husband.
If you want to see some illustrations and find out why I connected so well to this one, read the full review here:
I thank Mountaineers Books for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest opinion. Receiving the book for free does not affect my opinion.
Read Post On My Blog | Themed Bookstagram | Quick Update Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter
October 21, 2018
I absolutely LOVED this book! It took me back to my own Camino (2014) and gave me so much of the parts of the Camino I myself did not do. Wonderfully written. I can't count the amount of times it brought me to tears. Anyone considering the Camino, or wanting to remember it, will fall in love with this book.
October 28, 2025
Summary
In Walking to the End of the World, Beth Jusino recounts her pilgrimage along the ancient Camino de Santiago—starting not in the traditional route from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, but from Le Puy-en-Velay in France, adding hundreds of miles to her journey. Accompanied by her husband Eric, she embarks with little more than a backpack, sturdy shoes (eventually), and a soul searching for clarity.
Jusino’s memoir is refreshingly unvarnished—equal parts humorous, insightful, and deeply reflective. She captures the physical pain, the beauty of the landscapes, the camaraderie of fellow pilgrims, and the inner transformation that comes with walking 1,000 miles. As a self-described introvert and skeptic, Jusino offers a unique lens into the pilgrimage, where the spiritual and the practical coexist, and where vulnerability becomes a kind of strength.
Tone & Style
Personal and engaging, Jusino writes with honesty, humility, and wit. The book feels like a long walk with a thoughtful companion—never preachy, always observant. It balances the outer journey with the inner one.
More
Jusino WAS transformed by her journey. She has returned to the Camino two more times since this, her first trek.
Jusino's website: https://caminotimestwo.com/
5 stars
More thoughts on Oct 28, 2025
I read this book for ATY Prompt 40: A Comfort Read
Walking to the End of the World: A Thousand Miles on the Camino De Santiago comforted me in ways I didn’t expect. I read it in honor of my dear friend Sharon O, who completed the Camino herself last year. Reading this book let me walk beside her in spirit — step for step, story for story. Through the author’s journey and Sharon’s memories, I felt a deep sense of peace, gratitude, and connection. It reminded me that comfort doesn’t always come from ease; sometimes it’s born from endurance, faith, and shared experience. When I finished, I felt very good about life — restored, grounded, and thankful for the people who walk with me, even from afar.
In Walking to the End of the World, Beth Jusino recounts her pilgrimage along the ancient Camino de Santiago—starting not in the traditional route from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, but from Le Puy-en-Velay in France, adding hundreds of miles to her journey. Accompanied by her husband Eric, she embarks with little more than a backpack, sturdy shoes (eventually), and a soul searching for clarity.
Jusino’s memoir is refreshingly unvarnished—equal parts humorous, insightful, and deeply reflective. She captures the physical pain, the beauty of the landscapes, the camaraderie of fellow pilgrims, and the inner transformation that comes with walking 1,000 miles. As a self-described introvert and skeptic, Jusino offers a unique lens into the pilgrimage, where the spiritual and the practical coexist, and where vulnerability becomes a kind of strength.
Tone & Style
Personal and engaging, Jusino writes with honesty, humility, and wit. The book feels like a long walk with a thoughtful companion—never preachy, always observant. It balances the outer journey with the inner one.
More
Jusino WAS transformed by her journey. She has returned to the Camino two more times since this, her first trek.
Jusino's website: https://caminotimestwo.com/
5 stars
More thoughts on Oct 28, 2025
I read this book for ATY Prompt 40: A Comfort Read
Walking to the End of the World: A Thousand Miles on the Camino De Santiago comforted me in ways I didn’t expect. I read it in honor of my dear friend Sharon O, who completed the Camino herself last year. Reading this book let me walk beside her in spirit — step for step, story for story. Through the author’s journey and Sharon’s memories, I felt a deep sense of peace, gratitude, and connection. It reminded me that comfort doesn’t always come from ease; sometimes it’s born from endurance, faith, and shared experience. When I finished, I felt very good about life — restored, grounded, and thankful for the people who walk with me, even from afar.
April 25, 2023
What a great book that truly detailed the plight of the Camino de Santiago which I plan to do next September. This really got me excited to take part in this unique pilgrimage. Beth gets in depth with all of the folks she met along the way as well as her true feeling during this trek. She doesn't sugarcoat the experience and is raw and vulnerable about her journey. I loved her writing style and her very detailed personal experience, as each journey is very different for each individual.
October 18, 2018
This gorgeously stunning book will make you want to get the best hiking shoes there are, pack a bag, book a flight, and disappear into the glorious nature of God’s planet Earth, forgetting any and all things that don’t truly matter in this beautiful life.
Loved it!
Loved it!
October 15, 2018
Not all of us are cut out for adventure, and that’s okay. It’s especially okay since we can now read Beth Jusino’s excellent travel memoir, Walking to the End of the World.
Of course I’m not saying that reading about her thousand-mile trek across France and Spain on the Camino de Santiago is the same is living it, but Jusino shares such perfect details – about everything from her aching feet to the local cuisine at the stops along the way – that you really do feel as if you’re there with her.
Her writing is lovely – clear, clean, and vivid – full of insight and humor as well as sensory details. She takes time to consider the religious aspects of the Camino, and shares fascinating historical tidbits about them along the way. There were many times I found myself seriously contemplating making the same journey, because her tale was so inspiring – not just about herself and the people around her on the road, but what it was like to have life reduced to its simplest components: moving, resting, food, shelter, contemplation. (And plenty of wine.)
Even if you don’t normally read memoir or travel books, you should give this one a try. It’s engaging, charming, informative, and fun, and is probably as close as most of us will get to doing something as adventurous as walking across an entire peninsula.
Of course I’m not saying that reading about her thousand-mile trek across France and Spain on the Camino de Santiago is the same is living it, but Jusino shares such perfect details – about everything from her aching feet to the local cuisine at the stops along the way – that you really do feel as if you’re there with her.
Her writing is lovely – clear, clean, and vivid – full of insight and humor as well as sensory details. She takes time to consider the religious aspects of the Camino, and shares fascinating historical tidbits about them along the way. There were many times I found myself seriously contemplating making the same journey, because her tale was so inspiring – not just about herself and the people around her on the road, but what it was like to have life reduced to its simplest components: moving, resting, food, shelter, contemplation. (And plenty of wine.)
Even if you don’t normally read memoir or travel books, you should give this one a try. It’s engaging, charming, informative, and fun, and is probably as close as most of us will get to doing something as adventurous as walking across an entire peninsula.
October 3, 2018
I loved this book and now I really want to plan my own hike on the Camino de Santiago!
November 3, 2018
Following in Beth Jusino's footsteps for 1000 miles across France and Spain was an engaging experience. I know the author and was blown away by her strength of character and endurance, as she tackled and embraced this adventure. Not even a novice hiker in her own bailywick of Seattle, she didn't even have the right shoes to hike a modest journey, much less 1000 miles. Her trip was neither a religious pilgrimage nor a physical challenge (which it turned out to be), but a way to seek out reality after too many weeks, months, years on screens, websites, and computers. (Her phone was tucked away in her backpack for emergencies.) She and Eric met people face to face and became a "community" of the Camino.
The story of her and husband Eric's trek on the Camino de Santiago is a wonderful story, full of descriptions of people and places, insights, and the author's wonderful sense of ironic humor. I felt her pain as her feet struggled in bad shoes each day over rocks and steep inclines, her bad moods when events didn't go as planned, her joys in making new friends despite language barriers, the deep affection and appreciation between Beth and Eric, and her gratitude for the journey itself.
What kept me reading across 1000 miles? The everyday challenges and surprises, the suspense (would she actually complete this trek? What was the mystery behind the Grim brothers? Would friends meet again? What happened to Denise Thieme?), the humor found in many incidents along the pilgrimage. I was with her all the way, hoping to the end that she and Eric would meet their goal.
The story of her and husband Eric's trek on the Camino de Santiago is a wonderful story, full of descriptions of people and places, insights, and the author's wonderful sense of ironic humor. I felt her pain as her feet struggled in bad shoes each day over rocks and steep inclines, her bad moods when events didn't go as planned, her joys in making new friends despite language barriers, the deep affection and appreciation between Beth and Eric, and her gratitude for the journey itself.
What kept me reading across 1000 miles? The everyday challenges and surprises, the suspense (would she actually complete this trek? What was the mystery behind the Grim brothers? Would friends meet again? What happened to Denise Thieme?), the humor found in many incidents along the pilgrimage. I was with her all the way, hoping to the end that she and Eric would meet their goal.
February 29, 2020
Excellent read.
December 9, 2018
In my ongoing quest to keep the spirit of the Camino de Santiago alive at home after my own pilgrimage last September, I just finished a wonderful new Camino book, "Walking to the Ending of the World: A Thousand Miles on the Camino de Santiago" by Beth Jusino, released in October. To date, I have read more than 10 Camino narratives but this book is one of the most enjoyable and engaging accounts of the pilgrimage; a story about a courageous woman and her husband who dared to push their physical and psychological endurance to the limits along the sacred Way of Saint James aka Camino de Santiago—a pilgrimage route that stretches from various points throughout Europe to the tomb of Saint James in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
The most popular route undertaken by pilgrims begins in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (SJPDP), France, and continues 500 miles west to Santiago in the northwest corner of Spain. However, there are four prominent branches of this famed route that begin different regions of France, chief among them, the Via Podiensis that stretches from Le Puy to SJPDP, and it is along this route that Jusino embarks with husband Eric on a pilgrimage that will take them 1,000 miles to the “end of the world” in Finisterre, Spain.
What attracted me to yet another written account of, yet another pilgrim’s journey was the journey itself! Unlike other titles in my Camino library most of which is filled with narratives of the more popular route that begins in SJPDP and ends in Santiago, “Walking to the End of the World” promised a brand-new Camino adventure for me along the Via Podiensis from Le Puy to Santiago.
"Walking to the End of the World" is an inspiring story about tests of courage filled with crushing moments of defeat and discouragement when Jusino’s stamina was stretched to the extremes—utter exhaustion and anguish from the physical and mental demands of walking an average of 25 km. every day with a heavy backpack for an 11-week pilgrimage. Her aching feet lovingly or disdainfully dubbed the “princesses” is how Jusino described the good days and the bad. While my heart ached with every blow, it rejoiced with every triumph and every moment of jubilee; crying and laughing every step of the way in this beautifully written and warm-hearted account peppered with Jusino’s wry sense of self-deprecating humor that evoked many a laugh-out-loud moment, including the great bovine chase. [LOL]
Along the way, we traveled through warrens of cobble-stoned streets in quaint medieval villages resplendent in historic architecture; hiked over the stunning mountain landscapes and plod though the sprawling plains of the maseta—all the while accompanied by a colorful cast a characters that Jusino dubs with nicknames of her own making such as the “Brothers Grim,” the “Black-Eyed B’s,” the “Dane,”—among others, many of whom added so much spice and vibrancy to her story. Honestly, Jusino does a brilliant job at inviting the reader to become part of her story, her pilgrimage. I felt like I was there with her as she described the surrounding beauty, conversed with fellow pilgrims and reflected on her thoughts and feelings.
My own pilgrimage was but a fraction of Jusino’s, a little more than one-tenth actually, but I share many of her sentiments about the teachings of the Camino, the blessings received and the lessons learned about ourselves after we’ve reached the finish line; specifically how this ancient pilgrimage of the heart and soul along a sacred path transforms us from the person we were to the person we have become. But also, we must ask ourselves, have we really reached the finish line? Does Santiago mark the end of the Camino or is it the beginning? Most pilgrims would agree that it is the latter, oftentimes expressed as "ultreia" or "beyond."
While I received a complimentary copy of "Walking to the End of World,” I am under no obligation to publish a review of any kind but after reading this and like every other book I have read as you all know, I am compelled to share my thoughts and recommendations here on Goodreads!
With that I urge all of you who have embarked on pilgrimage, those who are dreaming/planning of making the journey, or an arm-chair traveler who wants to experience pilgrimage from the comfort of their home, to read “Walking to the End of the World”! Each time I picked up the book, I couldn’t wait to experience what lay ahead on this sacred path and I am sure that you will enjoy this book just as much as I have.
Buen Camino!
The most popular route undertaken by pilgrims begins in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (SJPDP), France, and continues 500 miles west to Santiago in the northwest corner of Spain. However, there are four prominent branches of this famed route that begin different regions of France, chief among them, the Via Podiensis that stretches from Le Puy to SJPDP, and it is along this route that Jusino embarks with husband Eric on a pilgrimage that will take them 1,000 miles to the “end of the world” in Finisterre, Spain.
What attracted me to yet another written account of, yet another pilgrim’s journey was the journey itself! Unlike other titles in my Camino library most of which is filled with narratives of the more popular route that begins in SJPDP and ends in Santiago, “Walking to the End of the World” promised a brand-new Camino adventure for me along the Via Podiensis from Le Puy to Santiago.
"Walking to the End of the World" is an inspiring story about tests of courage filled with crushing moments of defeat and discouragement when Jusino’s stamina was stretched to the extremes—utter exhaustion and anguish from the physical and mental demands of walking an average of 25 km. every day with a heavy backpack for an 11-week pilgrimage. Her aching feet lovingly or disdainfully dubbed the “princesses” is how Jusino described the good days and the bad. While my heart ached with every blow, it rejoiced with every triumph and every moment of jubilee; crying and laughing every step of the way in this beautifully written and warm-hearted account peppered with Jusino’s wry sense of self-deprecating humor that evoked many a laugh-out-loud moment, including the great bovine chase. [LOL]
Along the way, we traveled through warrens of cobble-stoned streets in quaint medieval villages resplendent in historic architecture; hiked over the stunning mountain landscapes and plod though the sprawling plains of the maseta—all the while accompanied by a colorful cast a characters that Jusino dubs with nicknames of her own making such as the “Brothers Grim,” the “Black-Eyed B’s,” the “Dane,”—among others, many of whom added so much spice and vibrancy to her story. Honestly, Jusino does a brilliant job at inviting the reader to become part of her story, her pilgrimage. I felt like I was there with her as she described the surrounding beauty, conversed with fellow pilgrims and reflected on her thoughts and feelings.
My own pilgrimage was but a fraction of Jusino’s, a little more than one-tenth actually, but I share many of her sentiments about the teachings of the Camino, the blessings received and the lessons learned about ourselves after we’ve reached the finish line; specifically how this ancient pilgrimage of the heart and soul along a sacred path transforms us from the person we were to the person we have become. But also, we must ask ourselves, have we really reached the finish line? Does Santiago mark the end of the Camino or is it the beginning? Most pilgrims would agree that it is the latter, oftentimes expressed as "ultreia" or "beyond."
While I received a complimentary copy of "Walking to the End of World,” I am under no obligation to publish a review of any kind but after reading this and like every other book I have read as you all know, I am compelled to share my thoughts and recommendations here on Goodreads!
With that I urge all of you who have embarked on pilgrimage, those who are dreaming/planning of making the journey, or an arm-chair traveler who wants to experience pilgrimage from the comfort of their home, to read “Walking to the End of the World”! Each time I picked up the book, I couldn’t wait to experience what lay ahead on this sacred path and I am sure that you will enjoy this book just as much as I have.
Buen Camino!
March 17, 2024
So for those who don't know, I'm walking the Camino de Santiago this summer, and so I have a small stack of memoirs/travelogues to get me hyped for the journey!
I chatted with a cousin recently about this sort of book--the "I did this really cool long journey and now I'm writing a memoir about it" type book. Doing this sort of trip has such a huge impact on a person, and then when they get home there's so many lingering feelings, and a lot of people deal with those feelings by writing a book about it. The end result is often less a cohesive narrative or deep reflection, and more "here's what I did on this on this trip and how I felt about it." This book definitely falls into that category.
I was reading this to get a sense of the day-to-day on the Camino, and it did give me that. But I was also put off early on by the author's pretentions about doing the ""real"" Camino, and how the ignorant masses don't realize that Saint Jean isn't the "real" starting point. As if there's a single "real" route in a pilgrimage that people having been undergoing for thousands of years.
I also felt like the author was such a hater about Spain. She did turn around eventually, but the negativity was so off-putting to me as a reader. And that's something I struggle with when reading these kinds of books, tbh! Like, the author is a real person, and she's allowed to have her opinions and perspectives, and she's allowed to be petty and judgmental, heaven knows we all are sometimes. But, to be frank, just because we all have those moments doesn't mean I want to read a laundry list of complaints and judgments across a thousand miles of pilgrimage.
Anyway, that's all me being a hater I guess. I did enjoy a lot of this book, and it really spurred me to start training for my trip in earnest. I'd say it's a pretty run of the mill adventure travelogue. A good enough read for someone planning the same journey, but nothing particularly compelling for a reader outside of that.
p.s. how are you gonna plan a thousand mile walk across France and Spain and not even study the languages beforehand. She learned a new word, cerrado, her first day in Spain. how do you plan a trip like this and not know a word as basic as cerrado??
I chatted with a cousin recently about this sort of book--the "I did this really cool long journey and now I'm writing a memoir about it" type book. Doing this sort of trip has such a huge impact on a person, and then when they get home there's so many lingering feelings, and a lot of people deal with those feelings by writing a book about it. The end result is often less a cohesive narrative or deep reflection, and more "here's what I did on this on this trip and how I felt about it." This book definitely falls into that category.
I was reading this to get a sense of the day-to-day on the Camino, and it did give me that. But I was also put off early on by the author's pretentions about doing the ""real"" Camino, and how the ignorant masses don't realize that Saint Jean isn't the "real" starting point. As if there's a single "real" route in a pilgrimage that people having been undergoing for thousands of years.
I also felt like the author was such a hater about Spain. She did turn around eventually, but the negativity was so off-putting to me as a reader. And that's something I struggle with when reading these kinds of books, tbh! Like, the author is a real person, and she's allowed to have her opinions and perspectives, and she's allowed to be petty and judgmental, heaven knows we all are sometimes. But, to be frank, just because we all have those moments doesn't mean I want to read a laundry list of complaints and judgments across a thousand miles of pilgrimage.
Anyway, that's all me being a hater I guess. I did enjoy a lot of this book, and it really spurred me to start training for my trip in earnest. I'd say it's a pretty run of the mill adventure travelogue. A good enough read for someone planning the same journey, but nothing particularly compelling for a reader outside of that.
p.s. how are you gonna plan a thousand mile walk across France and Spain and not even study the languages beforehand. She learned a new word, cerrado, her first day in Spain. how do you plan a trip like this and not know a word as basic as cerrado??
January 14, 2020
Absolutely loved this book!!! Such a "real" account of their adventure.
I loved how honest Beth Jusino was about how "woefully unprepared" she was at start of trail and how she rose to the challenge of the unexpected! A great read!!!!
I loved how honest Beth Jusino was about how "woefully unprepared" she was at start of trail and how she rose to the challenge of the unexpected! A great read!!!!
January 3, 2019
A truly wonderful addition to the canon of stories of adventures by women writers.
November 3, 2023
I’m happy for you lady, I’m sure this made for a great Facebook post. The US is sadly not the center of the world 😢
July 10, 2021
I bought this book years ago with great ambition to read a book about walking- not something that really appealed to me BUT WOW. This book is so relatable to many of us to tend to be a bit uptight and struggle to roll with what life throws at us. It’s a beautiful book about friendship and pushing yourself to experience the world in a new way.
June 21, 2024
Get me back on the Camino right now this very second
November 25, 2019
Wonderful story about walking the Camino. Reached out to the author via email as I was about to walk the Camino myself. She couldn't have been nicer. Left my copy in Roncesvalles for another peregrina to read.
July 14, 2021
Excellent
This account of a full Camino had all the information I was looking for, and all the details. It seems to be an honest account that inspired me.
This account of a full Camino had all the information I was looking for, and all the details. It seems to be an honest account that inspired me.
May 6, 2019
I have a friend who hiked the AT, and I even got a very small taste of the adventure when I met her one night at a hostel in a town on the trail. I also saw the movie The Way a long time ago (will be watching again very soon), so I was very interested in reading this memoir of a hike on the Camino. It was very well written and I liked the author’s revelations and relationships along the way. The book made for a great vicarious adventure!
January 9, 2019
I randomly picked this up at the library knowing nothing about it - and what a delight it was.
May 4, 2019
I enjoyed reading about Beth’s walk and getting a different take on the Camino. When I saw her speak in Asheville she said she wasn’t walking for spiritual reasons. She said the books she’d read were one of two things: guidebooks or memoirs where someone has a spiritual awakening. So she set out to write a book about everything in between: what it’s like to walk the Camino, finding rooms, eating, etc. I was happy to have this story that acted as both guidebook and memoir. Interspersed were touching stories about people she met and growth she experienced. She was honest and self-aware.
January 20, 2022
I now want to walk the Camino, which I had never heard of two days ago. An easy and engaging read.
November 15, 2021
This seattle couple walked the Camino de Santiago! we're going to do it next year.
Reading their story gives me insights into what I want and don't want to do on our Camino.
I especially like the resources she provides.
Reading their story gives me insights into what I want and don't want to do on our Camino.
I especially like the resources she provides.
Read
January 11, 2021I spent this past weekend totally immersed in this book, tagging along on Beth’s adventure along the Camino, seeing what she saw and meeting the people she and her husband met. I was already excited to read the parts that take place in Spain, a country I fell in love with while in college, but I ended up enjoying reading about her time in France just as much, and learned so many new things about both countries and about the Camino itself. I appreciated Beth’s wry sense of humor that is evident throughout the book, and I found her experience of the journey so relatable and approachable (I also am not the type to bound up hills, as her husband does in the book). While she doesn’t gloss over the challenges of such an undertaking (who would want to read a book about how easy it was to walk 25 Km a day?), her account made me feel like I could dare to do my own Camino someday. Like any satisfying adventure (or book), I was sad as I neared the end of the tale, wishing there were more miles left to travel.
May 31, 2021
Required Reading for Anyone Walking the Camino!
(Full review to come)
(Full review to come)
March 4, 2023
Beautiful writing on the connections you make on the Camino.
October 16, 2020
Very enjoyable, quick/light read. Tore through half of it on a day off, loved the story of the Camino, now I want to go too.
January 3, 2021
The writing isn't very good in this book. She goes on what is normally a spiritual pilgrimage, and goes out of her way to say it is not for her. There isn't much introspection. What we're left with is a detailed account of when they got off the train and didn't know what way to go, or detailing when she was hungry and they didn't have reservations. She goes out of her way to describe herself as an obsessive planner, yet she missed some very important details of planning. As a personal story, I'm sure the author's travels hold great meaning to her. As a book that has universal appeal I found it sorely lacking.
September 7, 2023
I loved this book from the very first paragraph to the end. This is the first book that I have read about the Camino de Santiago and I found it inspiring and fascinating. If I were about 40 years younger, I would love to attempt this journey. Just walking about 60 miles in 3 days in support of Susan G Komen was difficult enough. I cannot image 1000 mikes in 75 days...carrying your necessities that whole time. Reading this book has encouraged me to look for more books, documentaries, and perhaps movies about the Camino. Definitely worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews