The Way of the Wild Goose: Three Pilgrimages Following Geese, Stars, and Hunches on the Camino de Santiago

by Beebe Bahrami

With three pilgrimages across southern France and northern Spain defining author and anthropologist Beebe Bahrami’s single journey on the Camino de Santiago, The Way of the Wild Goose recounts an inner and outer journey full of wild nature, ancient roads and history, quirky pilgrims, wise and humorous locals, and mysterious folklore. It’s a compelling tale of quest, initiation, and transformation following the Way of Saint James.

The book is also a detective story that reveals an old mystery: Why is the goose associated with the medieval Camino de Santiago, and how did it come to preserve a whole universe of pagan, pre-Christian lore in one innocent symbol? Longtime trekker Bahrami decided to find out, and unknowingly catapulted herself into a true wild goose chase, unearthing a magnetically alive and meaningful long walk on the ancient roads in France and Spain—and a journey into the Self.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Spirituality, Memoir, Spain, France, History

418 pages, Hardcover

Published May 17, 2022

Reviews

[Candi]

I found so much pleasure in Bahrami's Cafe Neandertal that I couldn't wait for the opportunity to purchase this book when it became available at my favorite secondhand place. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to set it aside. It's a bit more spiritual than I expected, and trekking from church to church made me extra grumpy right now. I was interested in the other travelers and the landscape descriptions, but it wasn't enough. It turns out I prefer spending time with archaeologists, anthropologists, and Neandertals.

[Stelleri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beebe Bahrami has already given us several travel guides for sacred Spain and two previous memoirs of the region. Now she writes her third memoir; this one might be characterized as "Camino Plus." Here, Bahrami again interweaves her own experience with a regional phenomenon, in this case, the Camino de Santiago and its wealth of goose/goddess imagery. Reading her memoirs is like walking with Bahrami--you learn what she's feeling and thinking, how she's making sense of and pursuing meanings of the topic she's exploring, as well as the daily details of food, accommodations, and conversations with others. Aspects of her memoirs are linear while others circle, swoop, and recur. Enjoy!

[Mrs C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised how much I liked reading about trivia and anecdotes about the Camino. This is a leisurely paced nonfiction (perhaps that added to the contemplative aspect) that made me want to experience the Camino myself.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

[Kenneth McIntosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book combines a pilgrim's daily travel journal with a search for cryptic symbols reminiscent of Da Vinci Code and a quest for Divine signs a bit like Paulo Coelho's novel The Pilgrimage. That's a lot to try and do in one book, but Beebe Bahrami held my interest throughout the recounting of her three treks walking the Camino De Santiago.

I know that reading a travelogue can be a very different experience depending on whether the reader has actually been to the place described in the book. So I want to be clear that I have not (yet) walked the Camino. Reading this book was part of discerning my desire to undertake the Camino and it has inspired me to do so next year.

Some readers might feel the book is a bit "woo woo" but Ms. Bahrami's way of looking at the world fits nicely with my own. I appreciate Medieval art and architecture--and she is an expert. I love mythology (I've taught comparative religion at college leaning heavily on Joseph Campbell's work) and she delves into the esoteric spirituality of each place she visits. I've felt ley line energy in the ancient paths of Britain, and she senses that the Camino is a massive energy field. And I discuss my dreams with a Jungian psychologist--and she also pays attention to the signs that come through dreams and unusual experiences. In short, she is just the sort of guide I would like to inform my walk on the Camino.

I highlighted pages thinking "I will look for this when I am on the Camino." I'm thankful she shared her spiritual quest and hope that reading this book will guide me toward experiences of illumination on my own pilgrimage.

She has also written a Moon guidebook for the Camino De Santiago which I have purchased and intend to read next.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read more than one book about walking The Camino, as pilgrims have done for centuries, moving from SW France or elsewhere in Iberia to get to Santiago, Spain. This I would classify as a book 'around' walking The Camino, quite literally for the first major part, as the trek is in the connecting routes and subsidiary trails of the mountains of the relevant part of France. But it's also a book 'around' the topic of the pilgrimage, as the author engages in ancient pagan myth, and much of her own dream world, philosophy and mindset on the journeys. What comes out of it all borders on over-indulgence, as we get almost hippyish notification of it being a ley line, and all the church apexes having 'electricity', and so on. More key to the unique flavour of the book is also an ethnographic search for why so many religious places and points on the walks are decorated with carved geese. There's a snakes-and-ladders styled game connected to the route, too, also involving said birds, and the geese are clearly there for a reason, hence the psychogeography and other disciplines engaged with in working out why. This, then, being at times an ungainly mix of the academic research on the hoof and the personal, can be quite hard going, and not easy to engage with. And while I am sure the communing with nature, spiritualism of all sorts and reflections on past years' millions of fellow pedestrians are all more than valid responses to the pilgrimage, it's best not to expect to always be in the right mood to feel them through these pages.

[Miz Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beebe Bahrami brings a new/old perspective to the Camino de Santiago by tracing the elusive pagan goddess roots and the connection to the sacred land along the ley lines best known as a Christian pilgrimage route. It is a mysterious and personal journey (actual three separate pilgrimages) that is especially enjoyable for the connections Bahrami makes with the folklore and villagers along the Way and her application of extensive research that she refers to (but, disappointedly, does not footnote or list in a bibliography). The Game of the Goose is particularly intriguing. The messages and lessons that the Way teach her as she searches for the Wild Goose and how they relate to her quest to find right livelihood as a freelance writer and researcher ultimately ask all of us to treat our daily life as if it too was part of the Way.

Book Pairings:
For connections of stories and the land: Becoming Kin by Patty Krawec, If Women Were Rooted by Sharon Blackie, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Scatterlings by Martin Shaw

[Lisal Kayati Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m on the fence about this book. I liked the interesting angle and content - but was underwhelmed by the goose connection. We all have our talisman/compass/inspiration and I respect that. Something did not ring true for me - can’t put a finger on it. The author is clearly worldly and educated. Something about her presentation is just too woo-woo. It’s as if she is trying to capture a childlike innocence with words and just doesn’t get there. I have no doubt her experience might have been deeply spiritual- but her writing does not elicit that.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the moment I stepped with the author onto the Camino de Santiago, I was captivated and felt as though time was a porous afterthought, something no longer real or necessary. Each bend in the road, or change in the weather became cause for celebration and curiosity, followed by a yearning for the stamina to engage with life in such a visceral, trusting way. For me, this journey was magnificent as well as a stunning reminder of how pilgrimage changes a life . . . even when taken through the eyes of another.

[Michael Ostrowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the author’s Camino de Santiago guide book (Moon Publications) on my Kindle when I walked my pilgrimage in 2019, and reading it as I went greatly enhanced my journey. “The Way of the Wild Goose” was like getting an Origin Story to the guidebook, bringing it alive and infusing it with deeper meanings. There is so much history and folklore and myth associated with the Camino, and it was immensely enjoyable to be immersed in Beebe Bahrami’s thorough research and personal connection to it. I Ioved this book and I know I will read it again.

[JP · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I most appreciated about this book was Bahrami's effectiveness at making the reader feel like they were walking along with her. My interest in this book was foremost to get a sense for the experience of the Camino, and I did. She also brought plenty of cultural and religious perspective, including a deep exploration of the mythos about the goose, Mary and other elements that have spanned religious periods.

[Charles Percy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Way of the Wild Goose is as if Baba Ram Dass goes on three pilgrimages with Cheryl Strayed and Elizabeth Gilbert. Each of the author's long jaunts has its own arc, and each is quite different but with overlapping themes. Her warm interactions with locals on each journey are the stuff of what one wants anywhere and the persistent lure and challenges of the Way will draw readers into their own journey.

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

previous reviews stated it was more about the churches than the experience and people the author met.
while there were certainly a lot of churches, it was her excellent knowledge about the history of these churches and towns that added to the interest.
I'm about to head off to do the French camino, and I'll be looking for the geese.
she made some interesting friends along the way, but this book is not a tour guide, possibly more of a spiritual guide.

[Corrie Kraatz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beebe has done it again! The journey that Beebe takes the reader on, no matter the book, is always a profound and deep experience. Her expansive research and beautiful gift of storytelling makes everything she writes a must read. I will forever be a fan!

[Kathy Sparrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. Bahrami's insights touched my heart and soul. The descriptions of the people and places in and around the Camino were so vivid I felt as if I were there. Her surrender to her calling––inspiring.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A spiritual memoir and guidebook

I loved reading Bahrami’s account of her pilgrimages on the Camino de Santiago and its environs. It gave great food for thought as I plan my own Camino.

[Linhowie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A magical book

This is the most meaningful book I have read on the Camino de Santiago. I loved every minute of reading Beebe’s magical prose. I’m already reading it again.

I walked the Camino Francés in late August, September and early October 2019 and I re-lived my own journey walking along with Beebe. Her book makes me long to walk the Camino again bringing new insight and more understanding of the spiritual journey I am part of.

[Michelle Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love folklore + pilgrimage and this book does a great job of bringing those two worlds together - i learned a lot for my next camino <3

[Andra Denslow · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent read!

I enjoyed this book from start to finish. I recommend it highly. Thoughtful, insightful, heartfelt, I felt as though I was on pilgrimage too.

[Yvonne Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read several books on this subject. This one definitely took a different turn. Very interesting