Pilgrims: Two Unlikely Friends Unravel the Mystery of Life

by Paul McDermott

"What follows is the true story of an extraordinary ordinary woman. Although it is her story, in the end it will also be yours..." It was autumn when Paul McDermott stood at the doorway to a characterless house that would exert a pull on him years after he closed the door for the final time. He was nervous, and totally unprepared to meet the woman he had agreed to visit. Val, 74 and dying of cancer, lived anonymously in this little house. She, too, was frightened. Her life had taken on a dull uniformity, not unlike her trimmed, fenced in and concreted over where deemed prudent. All that had seemed possible and hopeful had been pruned back or poisoned at the roots. This was not what Val had expected her life to become. Step by step, inch by inch, Val began to redress her past, to face her future, and to take on a clarity and peace that rekindled her humanity and her dignity. And, alongside her, Paul's own perceptions and compromises were challenged in a way he would never have believed when he first arrived at her door. Through trial and error they created something profound and regenerating between them. Full of a surprising warmth, mixed with courage and humour, this remarkable story of the unfolding of an unlikely friendship becomes deeply life-affirming, not only for the two protagonists on their parallel journey - but also for us all.

240 pages, Hardcover

First published May 5, 2005

About the author

Paul McDermott is a psychotherapist and writer living in London and Zurich.
For nearly 20 years, he trained psychotherapists and counsellors in London, and his ongoing work of more than 35 years is focused on helping people free themselves from controlling systems so they can win back their original nature and go on to live fulfilling and meaningful lives.
His first book, 'Pilgrims', explores what it means to live fully in the face of death — and began, fittingly, as a dream in which he was told to write. His writing blends memoir, reflection, psychological insight, and a provocative insistence on what really matters. In terms of this, he lives a simple reflective life based on the understanding that, as the Japanese say, “The Way is your everyday life.”

Reviews

[Lisa Swanepoel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet story and easy to read despite the difficult subject.