Review
"Forget Elizabeth George and her Oprah field memoir about a pilgrimage of rediscovery in middle age. This is the real deal...[Christmas's] style is equal parts Nora Ephron and Bill Bryson, balancing pithy observation with the history of the trail and her own experiences upon it...The warts and grottiness of Christmas's journey...are recognizable and relatable, much more so than a glossy religious experience or steamy love affair, and much more enjoyable for its accessibility." (Quill & Quire 20070922)
"Many books have been written about crossing northern Spain on the centuries-old Camino de Santiago, but this one by a Torontonian is funnier, cleverer and more informative than most." (Vancouver Sun 20071006)
"The title, subtitle and first line of Jane Christmas's memoir tell you almost everything you need to know about the book: who, what, where, when and why are laid out neatly, and the first sentence, 'Impulse is intuition on crack,' sets both the hook and the tone...It's a great first line and it suits the book, which is relentlessly smarter, funnier and holier than thou." (Globe & Mail )
"Many books have been written about crossing northern Spain on the centuries-old Camino de Santiago, but this one by a Torontonian is funnier, cleverer and more informative than most." (Vancouver Sun 20071006)
"The title, subtitle and first line of Jane Christmas's memoir tell you almost everything you need to know about the book: who, what, where, when and why are laid out neatly, and the first sentence, 'Impulse is intuition on crack,' sets both the hook and the tone...It's a great first line and it suits the book, which is relentlessly smarter, funnier and holier than thou." (Globe & Mail )
Book Description
In this wickedly funny account, Jane Christmas describes her pilgrimage along Spain's infamous Camino de Santiago de Compostela in celebration of her fiftieth birthday. Somehow she finds herself leading fourteen squabbling middle-aged women -- until she inadvertently loses them and sets out on her own. That is when her real adventure begins, as she battles loneliness, hunger, and exhaustion.
But she also encounters charming villages, thickly forested vales, and more compatible pilgrims, including an enigmatic fair-haired man, whose appearance has been predicted by a psychic. By journey's end, Christmas has discovered that it is the detours of life that leads us to our heart's desire.
(20071214)From the Publisher
A wickedly funny account of one woman's pilgrimage of self-discovery on the infamous Camino, the ancient road to Santiago de Compostela.
About the Author
Jane Christmas is the author of The Pelee Project: One Woman's Escape from Urban Madness and What the Psychic Told the Pilgrim: A Midlife Misadventure on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. She has three children and lives in Hamilton, Ontario and London, England.
