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The Earth Beneath My Feet: A 7,000-Mile Walk of Discovery into the Heart of Wild Nature
The inspiring true story of a 7,000-mile wilderness walk.If you enjoy books about mountains, solo hikes, outdoor adventures, and 'off-the-beaten-path' travel, then you've just found your next must-read.Andrew Terrill was in his mid-twenties when he decided to do what many people only dream about. He turned his back on suburban life and walked alone into the wild.In May 1997, he set out to hike from Calabria in southern Italy to the top of Norway. And he chose to do it along the highest, wildest, and remotest route he could find. Seeking freedom and adventure, and a life of meaning and purpose, Terrill went in search of Europe's hidden wild side, unaware it would be far wilder than he expected.Hiking from the forests and mountains of the Apennines—an unrecognisable side of Italy few outsiders ever know—into the deep snow of an Alpine winter, Terrill chose the trail less-travelled... often ending up on no trail at all. The 18-month journey became a voyage of discovery, unveiling the secrets and treasures of Europe's least-visited landscapes. The miles brought hardships and struggles, but also the kind of life-enhancing revelations and rewards only an extended stay in nature can bring.The Earth Beneath My Feet covers the journey's first eight months; the concluding part is told in On Sacred Ground. Written with humility, humour and honesty, and with a contagious love for nature, this book transports the reader into a simpler existence where each day is different and each dawn comes bright with possibility. It is a compelling tale of youthful optimism, an old-fashioned adventure yarn from a time before smartphones and social media, and an inspiring story of insight, connection and growth. Above all, it is a celebration of the natural world—and of a young man's quest to find his true place within it. Featuring 80 black and white photographs and 8 maps, this captivating multi-layered narrative is far more than the story of a long walk. Anyone who has experienced the powerful pull of wanderlust, felt the urge to lose themselves in nature, or yearned for travel and adventure, will find a great deal to relate to and enjoy.
- GenresTravelNonfiction
481 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 1, 2021
63 people are currently reading
220 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
June 27, 2021
This book grabbed my attention from its exciting prologue, and maintained my interest throughout. It’s extremely well-written and well-edited. The author’s excellent descriptions and imagery made me feel like I was on the adventure with him. His thoughtful, humble voice made him seem more of a friend than some inaccessible endurance god. His sense of humor had me laughing out loud multiple times. Following is just one example of the quality of writing on every page of this book.
“For a few minutes, only the Corno Grande caught the light, so high was it above its neighbors, but then the new day touched other peaks one by one, painting their summits gold. It was like watching fires being lit one after another, a message of victory being relayed across the land.”
Perhaps surprisingly, considering the 7000 mile journey ahead, rather than seeking the shortest route between the southern tip of Italy and the northernmost point of Norway, the author seeks out the most remote areas and highest peaks along his way, not letting adverse terrain or weather discourage him (at least not for long). He takes the time to appreciate the amazing places he visits and the people he meets. He openly shares his emotional ups and downs and the overall experience is transformative, with his ability to overcome his fears and insecurities. While appreciative of the intimate, insider’s look at this journey I was privy to, honestly, at times I was glad I was home in my warm, dry bed!
Rather than leaving me feeling detached by the epic scope of the author’s journey, this book made me more appreciative of the small forays into the wilderness I can currently manage. I’d highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys outdoor travel/adventure, who wants to experience vicariously the most remote aspects of Europe, or who just plain enjoys good writing. I’m really looking forward to book 2, “On Sacred Ground,” next spring.
“For a few minutes, only the Corno Grande caught the light, so high was it above its neighbors, but then the new day touched other peaks one by one, painting their summits gold. It was like watching fires being lit one after another, a message of victory being relayed across the land.”
Perhaps surprisingly, considering the 7000 mile journey ahead, rather than seeking the shortest route between the southern tip of Italy and the northernmost point of Norway, the author seeks out the most remote areas and highest peaks along his way, not letting adverse terrain or weather discourage him (at least not for long). He takes the time to appreciate the amazing places he visits and the people he meets. He openly shares his emotional ups and downs and the overall experience is transformative, with his ability to overcome his fears and insecurities. While appreciative of the intimate, insider’s look at this journey I was privy to, honestly, at times I was glad I was home in my warm, dry bed!
Rather than leaving me feeling detached by the epic scope of the author’s journey, this book made me more appreciative of the small forays into the wilderness I can currently manage. I’d highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys outdoor travel/adventure, who wants to experience vicariously the most remote aspects of Europe, or who just plain enjoys good writing. I’m really looking forward to book 2, “On Sacred Ground,” next spring.
July 3, 2021
Have you ever had an adventure? A journey of exploration, where even the familiar things become new? Where woods and forests might turn into adversaries, dogs don't roll on their bellies to be tickled, flies are prehistoric killer beasts? Have you ever met a Shepherd who prepared your dinner for you, gave you a bed for the night, and spent the evening drawing pictures in reply to your own because neither of you could speak the same language? Have you ever given your own name to a special place in the woods or mountains?
If you have, this book will resonate with you. If you haven't, this book will msje you want to try things like this.
Andrew's homage to his youthful voyage of discovery will keep you turning the pages all the way from the wild South of Italy to the big mountain country of the Alps with lots of fun, many challenges, and meetings with real characters all the way.
I hope you join him, he makes a wonderful companion along the the way.
If you have, this book will resonate with you. If you haven't, this book will msje you want to try things like this.
Andrew's homage to his youthful voyage of discovery will keep you turning the pages all the way from the wild South of Italy to the big mountain country of the Alps with lots of fun, many challenges, and meetings with real characters all the way.
I hope you join him, he makes a wonderful companion along the the way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2024
I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. I would never consider a long hike with adverse weather. I truly enjoyed the humor and insight that Andrew shared in his retelling of his sojourn. I recommend it for all hikers and even non-hikers like myself. It is a real life example of mindfulness in action.
December 27, 2022
Exceptional. The best book of this genre that I've read. Looking forward to part two!
June 17, 2022
When Andrew Terrill’s ice axe hit a bump and flew from his hand, he lost his only hope of self-arrest. As he hurtled headlong down the precipitous slope of the Hohtürli Pass like “a rag-doll on the way to oblivion”, he realised this is how it feels to die. Yet miraculously, he didn’t. As he lay recuperating in hospital, he made a life-defining decision—to stop using mountains as an escape from work. Many might have come to a similar conclusion, but with a wholly different interpretation. You see Andrew hadn’t decided to give up mountains, he’d decided to give up the soul-sapping pursuit of money and status. From now on, work would be a temporary means of funding expeditions. He’d been given a second chance to live. He meant to use it.
Successive summers spent crossing The Alps and The Pyrenees confirmed his conviction that this was what he was born to do, but they also whetted his appetite for something bigger—a journey that would become a way of life. He hatched a plan to walk from Italy’s southern tip to Norway’s North Cape—a journey of 7000 miles that would take him eighteen months. The Earth Beneath My Feet covers the first eight.
It is an exhilarating adventure beset by all kinds of obstacles: from the searing Calabrian heat to the biting Alpine cold; from roaming packs of snapping dogs to a nocturnal near-encounter with a bear; from the sotto bosco—the dense, impenetrable undergrowth that chokes much of the Appenine woodland—to the friendly Mafia enforcers who block his path into the woods and politely insist he must find another way.
Andrew’s journey is an emotional one every bit as much as a physical one, dogged initially by frustration at how far the reality differs from his expectations, and by an intermittent sense of fear that he mistakes for weakness. As he transforms from an introverted boy from Pinner into Mad Mountain Jack, he learns to embrace these wild landscapes for what they are, and to trust fear as an invaluable primal instinct.
Knife edge arêtes are not only to be found underfoot, Andrew’s journey takes him along the thin divide between the ecstatic liberty of solitude and the gnawing hunger of loneliness. These emotions are variously amplified by his encounters with people: the dumbfounded Calabrians, perpetually asking “Dove Vai?” (where are you going); the mountain shepherds who exude the deepest contentment, gloriously free from all modern comforts; the brief reunions with family that induce aching homesickness; and Graziella and Flavio who steal his heart, then break it with a tale guaranteed to raise a tear (unless your heart is harder than The Dolomites themselves).
Terrill is a fine writer who evokes every nuance of his journey in vivid detail. As readers, we can almost smell the beech woods and the wild flower meadows, almost taste the pure mountain air. We share his elation on the summits, his hopes and concerns about ecology, his exhilaration and self-doubt, and his dogged determination to press on whatever hurdle lies in the path.
The Earth Beneath My Feet takes us to another Italy and another Austria, far removed from the tourist honey pots of the Amalfi Coast, Florence, Rome, and Lake Garda, but it takes us inward too, to re-examine our priorities, our life-choices, and our relationship with the natural world. It leaves us wanting one thing—to get our hands on a copy of the soon-to-be published sequel, On Sacred Ground, and set our sights for Norway.
Successive summers spent crossing The Alps and The Pyrenees confirmed his conviction that this was what he was born to do, but they also whetted his appetite for something bigger—a journey that would become a way of life. He hatched a plan to walk from Italy’s southern tip to Norway’s North Cape—a journey of 7000 miles that would take him eighteen months. The Earth Beneath My Feet covers the first eight.
It is an exhilarating adventure beset by all kinds of obstacles: from the searing Calabrian heat to the biting Alpine cold; from roaming packs of snapping dogs to a nocturnal near-encounter with a bear; from the sotto bosco—the dense, impenetrable undergrowth that chokes much of the Appenine woodland—to the friendly Mafia enforcers who block his path into the woods and politely insist he must find another way.
Andrew’s journey is an emotional one every bit as much as a physical one, dogged initially by frustration at how far the reality differs from his expectations, and by an intermittent sense of fear that he mistakes for weakness. As he transforms from an introverted boy from Pinner into Mad Mountain Jack, he learns to embrace these wild landscapes for what they are, and to trust fear as an invaluable primal instinct.
Knife edge arêtes are not only to be found underfoot, Andrew’s journey takes him along the thin divide between the ecstatic liberty of solitude and the gnawing hunger of loneliness. These emotions are variously amplified by his encounters with people: the dumbfounded Calabrians, perpetually asking “Dove Vai?” (where are you going); the mountain shepherds who exude the deepest contentment, gloriously free from all modern comforts; the brief reunions with family that induce aching homesickness; and Graziella and Flavio who steal his heart, then break it with a tale guaranteed to raise a tear (unless your heart is harder than The Dolomites themselves).
Terrill is a fine writer who evokes every nuance of his journey in vivid detail. As readers, we can almost smell the beech woods and the wild flower meadows, almost taste the pure mountain air. We share his elation on the summits, his hopes and concerns about ecology, his exhilaration and self-doubt, and his dogged determination to press on whatever hurdle lies in the path.
The Earth Beneath My Feet takes us to another Italy and another Austria, far removed from the tourist honey pots of the Amalfi Coast, Florence, Rome, and Lake Garda, but it takes us inward too, to re-examine our priorities, our life-choices, and our relationship with the natural world. It leaves us wanting one thing—to get our hands on a copy of the soon-to-be published sequel, On Sacred Ground, and set our sights for Norway.
June 13, 2021
I was hooked after reading the prologue. The book goes far beyond merely telling the story of the author's epic journey on foot across the wild lands of Europe. It's part memoir, part history lesson, part geography lesson (who knew there is snow in southern Italy in May) -- with a hefty dose of adventure mixed in. Terrill opens up about his insecurities, confronting and overcoming them - a valuable lesson for all of us, no matter what our own insecurities are.
May 11, 2024
The Earth Beneath my Feet and it's continuation, On Sacred Ground by Andrew Terrill
How lucky, surprised and amazed I was when I chanced on a mention of Andrew Terrill’s two books about his incredible trek north from the toe of Italy to Norway’s North Cape, “A 7,000 mile walk of discovery into the heart of wild nature”. Intrigued, I bought both books and wasn’t disappointed, far from it! In fact, I was captured from the start by Andrew’s opening sentence, “On the second day of June, 1993, I fell down a mountain…”, and I’m still reading, now crossing the Arctic Circle, still enthralled by Andrew’s adventures, both the sought and the unexpected.
But how many others, I wonder, have dared to conceive then trek 7000 miles, keeping wherever possible to wild places and by the high ways, not the highways. And these two books aren’t simply diaries of Andrew’s walk, they are carefully and thoughtfully written, sharing his hopes and fears - and there are many of both. Along the way he has, inevitably, good days and bad, and meets people who are often good, but sometimes not. The weather too is not always as hoped for or expected whether on high mountains and glaciers or along the east coast beaches of Denmark - but then weather rarely is and that’s how journeys are and his magical days outnumber the grim ones.
I should also add I was pleased to see that his journey was more than just an immense personal challenge. He was also raising money for two charities for the homeless, The Passage and the Cardinal Hume Centre, to whom he rightly dedicates a page at the end of each book. The two books are, as it says on the back cover of the first book, an inspiring true story of a young man who chose to embrace life and live it to the full, whilst simultaneously raising money for the homeless via these books.
Let Andrew take you in his footsteps, you won’t regret it.
How lucky, surprised and amazed I was when I chanced on a mention of Andrew Terrill’s two books about his incredible trek north from the toe of Italy to Norway’s North Cape, “A 7,000 mile walk of discovery into the heart of wild nature”. Intrigued, I bought both books and wasn’t disappointed, far from it! In fact, I was captured from the start by Andrew’s opening sentence, “On the second day of June, 1993, I fell down a mountain…”, and I’m still reading, now crossing the Arctic Circle, still enthralled by Andrew’s adventures, both the sought and the unexpected.
But how many others, I wonder, have dared to conceive then trek 7000 miles, keeping wherever possible to wild places and by the high ways, not the highways. And these two books aren’t simply diaries of Andrew’s walk, they are carefully and thoughtfully written, sharing his hopes and fears - and there are many of both. Along the way he has, inevitably, good days and bad, and meets people who are often good, but sometimes not. The weather too is not always as hoped for or expected whether on high mountains and glaciers or along the east coast beaches of Denmark - but then weather rarely is and that’s how journeys are and his magical days outnumber the grim ones.
I should also add I was pleased to see that his journey was more than just an immense personal challenge. He was also raising money for two charities for the homeless, The Passage and the Cardinal Hume Centre, to whom he rightly dedicates a page at the end of each book. The two books are, as it says on the back cover of the first book, an inspiring true story of a young man who chose to embrace life and live it to the full, whilst simultaneously raising money for the homeless via these books.
Let Andrew take you in his footsteps, you won’t regret it.
July 2, 2023
If book club hadn’t chosen this I wouldn’t have read it. I’ve already read several books in the genre of “I took a long hike and found myself” because book clubs tend to find these books inspirational. I typically find them written by self-centered people who don’t understand the hypocrisy of their disdain for the everyday middle class lifestyle that funds and supports their life choices.
This book is no different. The author decided in 1992 to go find himself by spending 18 months hiking 7000 miles from the southern tip of Italy to the northern shore of Norway (he takes a very meandering route). He can’t afford the trip so he solicits donations from companies and people. His parents send him biweekly supply packages from London. Although supported by people and companies., he disdains the “clutter of normal western living”. After hiking for weeks in undeveloped terrain, he decried how the equipment for ski areas blight the scenery. Confronted with no camping areas, he decides that he doesn’t have to comply with the restrictions because he’s exceptional in caring for the environment.
And the worst part? This book only covers the first part of his trip. He needs 2 books to tell us how wonderful his choices are and how pathetic our lives are.
This book is no different. The author decided in 1992 to go find himself by spending 18 months hiking 7000 miles from the southern tip of Italy to the northern shore of Norway (he takes a very meandering route). He can’t afford the trip so he solicits donations from companies and people. His parents send him biweekly supply packages from London. Although supported by people and companies., he disdains the “clutter of normal western living”. After hiking for weeks in undeveloped terrain, he decried how the equipment for ski areas blight the scenery. Confronted with no camping areas, he decides that he doesn’t have to comply with the restrictions because he’s exceptional in caring for the environment.
And the worst part? This book only covers the first part of his trip. He needs 2 books to tell us how wonderful his choices are and how pathetic our lives are.
April 4, 2022
Inspiring and Enchanting
Andrew’s journey is one of emotion, achievement, nervousness and excitement that you experience with him with each word you read. I never wanted this book to end, and am looking forward to the next part of the journey in “On Sacred Ground” which is out soon.
His love for walking and nature is contagious. His honesty and emotion when it all got too much is emotional. Facing his fears and walking forward, with the earth beneath his feet, is inspiring. His descriptions of the views and nature that he occasionally accompanied with photos, although nothing compared to what I imagine he experienced, is breathtakingly accurate.
This book, which documents his 7,000 mile discovery, not only has inspired me to finish planning my own epic discovery, but to appreciate that I have the choice to leave for that adventure and live outside for a period, when others do not. Andrew raises money and promotes two charities who help those homeless not by choice throughout the journey.
I’m excited for the next book of this epic 7,000 mile adventure!
Andrew’s journey is one of emotion, achievement, nervousness and excitement that you experience with him with each word you read. I never wanted this book to end, and am looking forward to the next part of the journey in “On Sacred Ground” which is out soon.
His love for walking and nature is contagious. His honesty and emotion when it all got too much is emotional. Facing his fears and walking forward, with the earth beneath his feet, is inspiring. His descriptions of the views and nature that he occasionally accompanied with photos, although nothing compared to what I imagine he experienced, is breathtakingly accurate.
This book, which documents his 7,000 mile discovery, not only has inspired me to finish planning my own epic discovery, but to appreciate that I have the choice to leave for that adventure and live outside for a period, when others do not. Andrew raises money and promotes two charities who help those homeless not by choice throughout the journey.
I’m excited for the next book of this epic 7,000 mile adventure!
September 7, 2021
I loved this book. I have always been a voracious reader. I will read anything from absolute rubbish to sometimes impenetrable tomes. I truly gobble books. But this book was an absolute pleasure, a truly well written and crafted literate experience. So I did not gobble or rush but read with care and recognition. Usually I just want to get to the end of a book, however as I approached the last chapters and pages I noticed that I was reading slower and slower. I did not want to finish. For me, that is the sign of a fabulous book, beautifully written, emotional and honest. And it is in that last word ‘honest’ that I sum up this book and my experience in reading it. It has even made me reassess so many of my beliefs about freedom and choices. I too, some days now, just sit and watch my trees and the sky and the birds flying nearby. I cannot wait to read the next stage of this European journey. With many thanks for a life enhancing read!"
January 10, 2022
From the first astonishing, scary sentence of the Prologue, I read this book eagerly, at every spare moment. Having made (a few) multi-day hiking trips, I know a little bit about the highs and lows of such travel – the heat, the cold and wet, the confidence-knocking experiences and the glorious vistas – all of which are vividly described in Andrew's book. I've read numerous other books in the genre (some only moderately well, or even poorly, written), just because I love to participate in others' journeys. However, Andrew Terrill is in a league of his own, both as a talented and eminently readable writer, and as a courageous and perceptive wild traveller across the mountains and through the forests of Europe. The title, "The Earth Beneath My Feet", had already pulled me in, reminding me what a privilege it is to tread the earth, step by step. So I can't wait for "On Sacred Ground", describing the second half of his walk, to appear later this year.
February 28, 2022
Many of us day-hikers enjoy the Black Hills and the Rocky Mountains and challenging the Fourteeners; Andrew Terrill wrote THE EARTH BENEATH MY FEET for us. Many of us enjoy the struggles of Will Steiger and Anne Bancroft and Andrew’s journey is filled with comparable challenges. Many of us enjoy the spiritual beauty that Sigurd Olson and Aldo Leopold find in raw nature, and that Andrew finds and shares with sharp detail. His story, his diary, includes struggles that accompany bad terrain, bad weather, bad maps, and personal insecurities, but again and again he perseveres. It is such fun to vicariously share this heroic adventure. the second half of the story, his journey up through Norway, is coming soon, and I am impatiently waiting. Write Andrew, write.
September 14, 2024
This book is truly fantastic, a wild journey through a continent that many (foolishly) think is barely wild at all. The fact that central Italy has such remote tracts was a revelation to me, though perhaps this is more of a reflection on myself. The winter sections were uncomfortable for someone without much experience in snow, but it really opened my eyes to what a motivated hiker can accomplish by just moving forward.
A great thing about this book is the length of it. It is (if you love hiking) a page turner, and its 500 pages never felt excessive to me. There was no fat and it really gave a sense of the proportions of this walk, which would have been lost in a shorter book.
Another great thing about this is it allows for depth, perspective and introspection while never losing sight of the main focus of the book: nature itself and walking. Others may differ, but personally I dislike books about hiking that become primarily books about personal struggle etc. I want a hiking book to be focused on hiking, on the non-human world and nature that we too frequently forget when we are in the midst of civilization. The length of the book allows Terrill to include both, and, indeed, some of my favourite sections were the encounters with people and the honest portrayal of his emotional states and thoughts as he trudged (and skipped) northwards.
The book is very well written. Never felt clunky and Terrill obviously has a genuine talent for capturing emotions, people and landscape, which is a gift not all long-distance hikers possess!
Already of my favourite travel/hiking/adventure books
A great thing about this book is the length of it. It is (if you love hiking) a page turner, and its 500 pages never felt excessive to me. There was no fat and it really gave a sense of the proportions of this walk, which would have been lost in a shorter book.
Another great thing about this is it allows for depth, perspective and introspection while never losing sight of the main focus of the book: nature itself and walking. Others may differ, but personally I dislike books about hiking that become primarily books about personal struggle etc. I want a hiking book to be focused on hiking, on the non-human world and nature that we too frequently forget when we are in the midst of civilization. The length of the book allows Terrill to include both, and, indeed, some of my favourite sections were the encounters with people and the honest portrayal of his emotional states and thoughts as he trudged (and skipped) northwards.
The book is very well written. Never felt clunky and Terrill obviously has a genuine talent for capturing emotions, people and landscape, which is a gift not all long-distance hikers possess!
Already of my favourite travel/hiking/adventure books
November 2, 2021
A gripping start made me want to read on. I have done some backpacking and so felt I could inhabit the world of the writer but not backpacking on this scale! The scale is hard to get your head around but the author breaks it down because he has to in order to achieve what he wants.
I love the way the journey is on different levels. The small details, the anecdotes, the emotional landscape stick in your mind as much as the wilderness landscapes the author walks through.
Highly recommend! Can’t wait for the sequel!
I love the way the journey is on different levels. The small details, the anecdotes, the emotional landscape stick in your mind as much as the wilderness landscapes the author walks through.
Highly recommend! Can’t wait for the sequel!
December 27, 2021
The Earth Beneath My Feet is a masterpiece.
Not only does this book reveal in detail the incredible first part of the long walk by Andrew it does it in such a way, as the prose is so good, that you actually feel that you are in his shoes doing the journey with him. The detailed maps covering each section of the walk helps you fully understand the challenge and the wonderful photographs also brings his walk alive. I cannot wait to read the second installment which I am sure will be up to the same fantastic standard.
Not only does this book reveal in detail the incredible first part of the long walk by Andrew it does it in such a way, as the prose is so good, that you actually feel that you are in his shoes doing the journey with him. The detailed maps covering each section of the walk helps you fully understand the challenge and the wonderful photographs also brings his walk alive. I cannot wait to read the second installment which I am sure will be up to the same fantastic standard.
October 16, 2023
Andrew writes beautifully... Off he goes on his epic and brave walk and immediately you're invited right in there with him. There's plenty of profound insight into what it means to be human: coping with being alone, pain, isolation and motivation. And then there's the lovely tiny detail: the feel of cotton sheets at a hotel on one of the rare, well-deserved breaks...the elements of the natural environment catching his eye.
I read it almost in one go all the while really dreading when it would end. But it doesn't because there's an excellent sequel!
Highly recommended.
I read it almost in one go all the while really dreading when it would end. But it doesn't because there's an excellent sequel!
Highly recommended.
January 24, 2024
I'm really writing one review for both books here, as I feel that they can't be separated. They both have to be read to get the full experience of Andrew's journey. And as wonderful as the description of his physical walk across Europe is, even more wonderful is his insightful writing about how he grows and changes as the journey unfolds. The books aren't just about long distance walking, but a way of living - both on and off the trail. They genuinely spoke to me in a way that no books ever have before.
February 10, 2025
I have read both books by Andrew Terrill, The Earth Beneath My Feet and On Sacred Ground. An incredible trek that lasted a year and a half. Through these two volumes, you gradually get to know Andrew and become part of his adventure. His descriptions of nature, his encounters, his inner journey, and his growth as a long-distance walker are fascinating. I was completely drawn in and could dream along on his journey. Inspiring and an amazing read. The best trekking book I have read so far. An absolute must-read!
November 20, 2021
This is a beautifully written account of an epic journey along the backbone of Italy and through the Austrian Alps. Part one of a two book series. I found it really engrossing and interesting. Having spent time in the mountains and also camped wild it was fascinating to follow his journey. There are moments of great beauty and connection with the natural world that leave you breathless. Its a gem of a book and deserves a much wider audience.
May 30, 2024
The first book of two beautiful books describing one man’s incredible adventure walking from southern Italy to the top of Norway.
The description is imbued with a humility and openness that makes the enormity of this 7000 mile walk seem ordinary.
However as a story of how to overcome the impact of physical and mental barriers in pursuit of a dream you will find no finer example.
Whether hiking or mountaineering is your ‘thing’ I would thoroughly recommend this book.
The description is imbued with a humility and openness that makes the enormity of this 7000 mile walk seem ordinary.
However as a story of how to overcome the impact of physical and mental barriers in pursuit of a dream you will find no finer example.
Whether hiking or mountaineering is your ‘thing’ I would thoroughly recommend this book.
February 9, 2023
The Real Walk
You must read this book. Beautifully written, full of adventure, something I would have loved to have done. I felt I was on the walk with Andrew with so many places I have been to, memories coming alive again. You feel his love of nature, his love of the great outdoors. It is inspirational. I was left in awe of his "real" walk.
You must read this book. Beautifully written, full of adventure, something I would have loved to have done. I felt I was on the walk with Andrew with so many places I have been to, memories coming alive again. You feel his love of nature, his love of the great outdoors. It is inspirational. I was left in awe of his "real" walk.
March 9, 2024
Amazing!
Andrew Terrill is to the mountains as Sigurd Olson is to the Boundary Waters. Beautiful, poetic writing that has you walking along side them, experiencing and seeing what they do. I can’t wait to read the next leg of this epic journey. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Andrew Terrill is to the mountains as Sigurd Olson is to the Boundary Waters. Beautiful, poetic writing that has you walking along side them, experiencing and seeing what they do. I can’t wait to read the next leg of this epic journey. Thank you for sharing your experience.
June 16, 2024
This, with its companion, On Sacred Ground, are thoroughly enjoyable accounts of Andrew Terrill's walk from Calabria, Italy, to North Cape, Norway. The books are funny, honest, and inspiring. Terrill's joy in being in nature—in spite of flies, mosquitos and unfriendly dogs—is infectious.
I would recommend both books. They're addictive.
I would recommend both books. They're addictive.
July 30, 2022
Really excellent read - and really well written. Takes inside the mind of someone doing an extremely long solo walk up Europe and his growth during the epic journey
Totally recommend and can’t wait to read the second part 😊
Totally recommend and can’t wait to read the second part 😊
January 12, 2023
A very detailed description of the first part of Andrew's hike from the south of Italy to the north of Norway. (This volume takes him to the Austrian / German border.) He recounts his inner turmoil and healing. I little wordy sometimes, but beautifully written, very heartfelt.
March 12, 2023
I liked this book . I resonate with it . In my youth I trekked a lot . So in terms of prose an easy book with a colorfully evocative and rather excellent tale of travel and with a very noble aim . In this regard one must read the second book in order to complete the journey.
July 5, 2023
An excellent read. I felt that I was travelling with him at some points. Totally benefits from being able to sit down for a while and read - the times when I’ve only read a couple of pages a night before falling asleep haven’t engaged to the same degree
April 1, 2023
A fantastic book about an amazing journey. Insightful, raw and beautiful writing. Surely will become a classic of mountain literature. Thank you Andrew for sharing your story with us
August 17, 2025
I'm already looking forward to the next one!
August 26, 2025
Inspiring. Bravo.
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