I’ve done some Camino Book Reviews over the last few years
so now I’ve decide to put the reviews all in one spot
Fall/Winter 25/26, Originally posted on the Internet on Februay 1, 2026
Towards Beauty, Reigniting a Creative Life on the Camino de Santiago by Dennis Garthum
The head of a large theater company has a play get shut down on opening night
because of the Covid Pandemic. This is a total low point for him. So, when it’s
safe to travel, Dennis leaves his husband and child and hikes the Camino Norte.
He does a great well written travelogue plus he adds in some of his key life
moments in theater and also of being gay. We are expected to believe that Dennis
has lost all of his creativity and by hiking the Camino he has totally regained
all his creativity. That seems to be a little dramatic for me, but that’s what he does.
4 out of 5 stars
Walk in a Relaxed Manner, Life Lessons from the Camino by Joyce Rupp
Joyce, A Sister of the Servite Order, teams up with a Pastor as a
hiking partner for the Camino Frances. Instead of doing a travelogue,
Joyce decides to do a series of essays on almost everything related to the Camino.
There are 25 of these essays that cover subjects like “Let Go,” “Be Attentive to
Your Body,” and “Return a Positive for a Negative.” If you always wanted to read
a book that overthinks everything about the camino, this is it. This book was copyrighted
in 2005 so it takes you back to a time before Gronze rated albergues, so every bathroom
is dirty. Joyce is a good writer and has written over 15 books, so I can’t give her too low
of a score, but this is too much overthinking for me. 3 out of 5 stars
Walking with Sam by Andrew McCarthy
McCarthy, best known for Acting in such movies as St Elmos Fire and Pretty in Pink,
gets his 19 year old son Sam to hike the Camino Frances with him. Andrew previously
did the same camino alone 25 years ago. This book goes into great detail about how
Sam reacts to everything on the camino. Sometimes Andrew sprinkles in stories of his
first camino and some stories about his family. Plus we get to know about the people that are
hiking the camino at the same time as them. There are some really colorful characters.
Andrew is a very good writer but the main problem is that Sam isn’t really all that
interesting. But it does appeal to men that always wanted to go on an adventure
with their son. 4 out of 5 stars
The Way, My Way, Film by Bill Bennett
Based on the book of the same name. I have not read the book. One day Bill and his wife
were driving in Spain on a holiday and they see a bunch of people walking. In the next
town they stop at a cafe and find out the people are walking the Camino de Santiago.
Bill then decides that he is going to come back and hike it. If you have seen the
Movie “The Way” by Emilio Estevez this by comparison is less dramatic and more authentic
than that movie. But, “The Way” being more dramatic also makes it more interesting.
4 of the pilgrims in this film are actually people Bill met while hiking the Camino. Bill is played
by veteran Australian Actor Chris Haywood, but Bill’s wife Jen is actually played by Jen.
I would give “The Way” 5 out of 5 stars and this one just below that at 4 out of 5 stars.
Yellow Arrows by Shelli Peck
Shelli gives us a really detailed account of her preparation and hike of the Camino Frances.
It’s so detailed that she doesn’t get to St Jean Pied de Port until page 70 in a 300 page book
We hear about everything she has encountered in her life, and she is really
concerned about her divorce, even though she is hiking with her new mate, John.
The book has the normal cast of characters that you would meet on the Camino.
She starts to have a real affection for John Brierly from reading his guidebook. I think
women will especially identify with this book, plus anybody who has been through
a terrible divorce, like, Myself. 4 out of 5 stars.
Notes
:
Dennis Garthum is still producing plays. One of his latest ventures is the “Play that goes wrong”
which he produced in several cities including his home theater in London, ON.
Andrew McCarthy is releasing a new book in March. It is called “Who Needs Friends: An Unscientific
Examination of Male Friendship Across America”
Joyce Rupp continues to write books as a Servite Nun. Her latest book is “The Years of Ripening:
Reflections on Aging in the Later Years”. Her Website is www.joycerupp.com
Bill Bennett has a website a https://www.billbennett.com.au/. It really doesn’t say exactly what he is doing now. On his facebook page he still seems to be promoting “The Way, My Way” along with a film about fear.
Shelli Peck contacted me and asked me to review her book. So, I bought it on Amazon. I looked on her Facebook page and it appears she has married John. I always thought that John proposing to her in Santiago would be a great ending to the book. But it didn’t happen that way. Best Wishes to the couple!!!!
Todd McMahon I am planning a camino for September of 2026. I have decided it will not be the
Camino Frances which I did in 2022. Also, I must be getting soft because I’m giving too many 4 out of 5 stars
Originally Posted on the Internet on September 17, 2025
The Year We Seized the Day by Elizabeth Best and Colin Bowles.
Two writers meet at a Conference and they decide they will hike the camino together and write a book.
So, the two head off from Australia and start hiking the Camino Frances at Roncesvalles. They each
take turns writing sections of the book. It doesn’t take very long and things start to go wrong.
There are blisters, swollen joints and of course stomach troubles. They each take a day off to mend
while the other one continues hiking. Colin starts having confrontations with different people including a nun. Of course the other person is wrong, at least that’s what I thought in the beginning. But the confrontations continue and Colin starts using the F-Bomb frequently. Soon I get the feeling that the other people are not to blame and Colin really doesn’t want to be there. Eli starts finding him at the bar in town every evening.
This book is darker than most Camino books and is not a feel good book. Colin is the author of over 10 books and Eli just one, so I believe she was more motivated to complete the hike and complete the book. Finally, Eli hobbles into Santiago with Colin in tow. Should be named “The Year We Seized Up Every Day” 1 out of 5 Stars.
Slow Your Roll by Meg S. Maloney
A 55 year old woman hikes the Camino Frances 35 years after spending a college year in Spain. Her biggest problems on the camino were blisters and the fact her tour company messed up. They would taxi her to a five star hotel, thereby making her miss hiking part of the camino. On some chapters she would write about one page about what happened on the hike that day and 3 or 4 pages about what happened in the town that night. She didn’t think Cruz de Ferro was all that impressive and she walked out of the Mass at the Santiago Cathedral because it was too crowded. Most of the book was about the people that she met and her Camino Family. One of the most irritating things about the book is sometimes she would write that she took a photo with, for example, Alfie and Deb. It would have been nice if she published those photos in the book which had absolutely no photos except for the covers. I was all set to give this book a 1 star.
But the afterword was good. It described how difficult it was for her to readjust back to her normal life after the Camino. I had not seen that in any other Camino book that I have read. 2 out of 5 stars.
Strokes of Kindness By Paul Mellor
Memory Expert and Author Paul Mellor takes on the challenge of paddling the whole Mississippi River.
Yes, that’s right, this book has nothing to do with a Camino. But like the camino, people come in and
out of your life at different times and places. Since Paul gives presentations and seminars on Memory, he is on and off the river quite often. Still, he manages to complete the river in one season. And he remembers all the people and the details. The book does have a lot of photos. I was kept entertained because I personally know some of the people involved. Still, I wasn’t overly inspired by the account, but it didn’t offend me either. 3 out of 5 stars
Practical Pilgrimage, Useful Rules for Walking the Camino de Santiago by Thomas Ryng.
Ryng has set up a bunch of rules for presumably new Pilgrims to follow. I can’t disagree too much with
many of the rules. He does write personal stories that illustrate each rule. But some of the rules seem
to be a bit much. For instance, Stop at Every Bathroom. I really didn’t need to go at Orisson plus there
was a long line so I didn’t use the bathroom there. I didn’t suffer any bad consequences because of it.
I guess the rule I disagree with the most is to “Take detours and alternative routes whenever practical.”
When I did my hike on the Frances Route, I wanted to experience the main route to its fullest.
No, variants for me. Ryng does look like a young Alex Guinness, so he’s got that going for him.
It’s a short book of 84 pages with plenty of photos. 3 out of 5 stars for new pilgrims. Lower than that
for experienced pilgrims.
Brothers in Arms By Brendan McManus SJ and James Fullam
McManus who hiked the Camino Ignaciano previously and had problems decides to hike it again.
This time he finds fellow Irishman James Fullam, a Dublin Taxi Driver to hike with him. James had previously hiked the Camino de Santiago. Brendan, a Jesuit Priest, also gives Spiritual Direction to James and there are several reflections and lessons about Ignation Spirituality in the book. The Camino Ignaciano is the route that St Ignatius took in 1522 as he was hiking to Barcelona on his way to Rome. Ignatius was diverted to Manresa because of a plague in Barcelona. Brendan and James have problems hiking across the Monegros Desert east of Zaragoza. It appears the major flaw in their hiking plan is they hiked it in June. Like the Via de Plato this Camino should be only hiked in the Spring or Fall. Soon James can hike no more because of heat exhaustion. They get a ride to Monserrat from the Sisters of Ancionos Desamparados who they happen to meet at a Restaurant. They rest up and pray at Monserrat and finally just get transportation for the last few miles to Manresa. I was looking forward to this book after reading McManus’s Book “The Way to Manresa.” But this book falls short. The book says it is authored by Brendan and James, but it appears that it is written all by Brendan. I would have liked to read some stuff from James, too, to get his point of view. 2 out of 5 stars. More than that if you want to learn about Ignation Spirituality
Restless Hearts by Roy Uprichard
A man from Ireland decides to hike the Camino Frances in one year with three different hikes. In the spring he hikes with his daughter from St Jean to Los Arcos. In the summer he hikes mainly by himself from Los Arcos to OCebreiro. His wife does join him from Leon to OCebreiro. And in the Fall he hikes by himself from OCebreiro to Santiago where his wife meets him. Surprisingly, Uprichard doesn’t write very much about his daughter and wife. Instead he writes about the people he meets and the places he visits. He has a real knack of getting great stories from the people he meets. He also brings up some of the history of the towns that I have never heard before. On his home time between his hikes he must have been doing some research. Plus his descriptions of the landscapes and scenery are pure poetry. His chapters are short and crisp except for the two chapter that he talks about growing up in war torn Northern Ireland and another chapter about his father that he never knew. To me these are acceptable diversions and breaks up the monotony of just doing a travelogue. 5 out of 5 stars
Notes
Elizabeth Best is now a Physical Therapist who treats people with chronic pain. Perhaps her experiences on the Camino helped her to decide to have that as a career. James Fullam continues to hike in Ireland to raise money for charities. Thomas Ryng has a website where he mainly writes about Catholic Topics https://www.thomryng.com/amateurmonk/. Brendan McManus SJ had a previous book about hiking the Camino de Santiago while grieving his brother’s death. It is called Redemption Road. I have not read it. Since writing Restless Hearts, Roy Uprichard has written two more camino books about hiking in Portugal. Paul Mellor has written several books about memory plus books about running a marathon in all 50 state and also biking across the United States.
Originally posted on the internet on Wednesday, March 26, 2025
And here goes with 6 more books:
The Way to Manresa, Brendan McManus SJ,
A Jesuit Priest from Ireland decides to hike the Camino Ignaciano
(Way of Ignatius.) That route goes from Basque Country all the way
over to Manresa, which is near Barcelona. It is the actual route the
Ignatius hiked in 1522 on his way to Rome and Jerusalem. A well written
tale which the key event happens just a couple days into the Camino. Brendan
falls into a pothole in the early morning darkness and hurts his knee.
He sees Doctors on a couple different occasions but none
of them take an X-ray. On each occasion they tell him to rest, then he
can continue his hike. The Camino Ignaciano coincides with the Camino
Frances for 8 miles between Navarrette and Logrono but goes in the
opposite direction. After reaching Logrono, Brendan decides to start
taking trains and buses more often and finally makes it to Monseratt
then Manresa. When he gets back to Ireland he finds out what really was
happening with his knee. 4 out of 5 stars
Furnace Full of God, Rebekah Scott,
A year in the life of a person who houses pilgrims on the Camino. This is
not just any year, it is a holy year. She is an American Journalist that
retired and moved to the tiny town of Moritanos on the Meseta. It’s
the town that I call “Mori turn left” because I missed the turn in the
early morning darkness. She with her husband name their house and
property the Peaceable Kingdom. We get to know the various animals
on the property including two Greyhounds found in a culvert. A vast
array of characters come into their lives as part of being the
only place in town, at that point, that housed pilgrims. We also get to
know the people in the town. The year is complete with
joys and heartbreaks. It is really well written, 5 out of 5 stars.
The Camino is Not Just For Walking, Danielle Aird
The adventures of “Grannie Dannie” on a couple different
Camino Adventures. She does stories from the current camino
she is walking, then does flashbacks to a previous camino.
The book is filled with small chapters, ranging from just a paragraph
to several pages. If you are bored about one subject, there will soon be
another subject to read about. The list of chapters is 6 pages long.
She describes in detail albergues, people, history and incidents that happened.
She includes plenty of Black and White photos dispersed in the book.
There is no detail too small to escape the eyes of Daneille. She
sees stuff that nobody else sees. 4 out of 5 stars.
Wisdom along the Way, Elaine Hopkins
“Twelve True-Life Camino Tales with an Inspiring Twist.” This is a smaller
book with 115 pages. As the subtitle says, there are twelve stories from the
camino. Each of the stories have some sort of conflict in them. For instance
a nun at an Albergue wouldn’t give a peregrina a blanket unless the peregrina
bought a religious cross for 10 euros. Of course there were other problems with
the nun leading up to that. Each lesson is based on a principle of NLP
(Neuro-Lingustic Programing) which is a “set of tools, techniques and principles
that guide people on how to operate in the world.” At the beginning of each
chapter Elaine mentions what principle of NLP is being applied and at
the end of the chapter there is a reflection paragraph. To me it was too
much like a class textbook where there are questions at the end of every
Chapter. At the end of the book she writes about the 12 principles of NLP coaching.
I didn’t feel that any of this was all that compelling, 2 out of 5 stars
The Pilgrimage, Paulo Coelho
First of all I need to point out that my young pilgrim friend Emily says that
this book was influential in her deciding to hike the Camino. If you go to this video
Emily’s section starts at the 39:50 mark and she said she read the book at the 43:20 mark.
About the book, Paulo decides to take on the challenge to learn the ways of the Order of RAM
and to find his sword. To do this he must hike the Camino de Santiago Frances
Route where early on he finds his guide Petrus. Along the way Paulo encounters
a series of tests, many of them with agents of the devil including a large black dog.
Previously, I wrote that Shirley Maclaine’s book “was bunch of new aged
metaphysical gobblygook.” This book does have a lot of mysticism but it feels
very real compared to Maclaine’s book. Coelho builds the story one
challenge at a time. 4 out of 5 stars.
It’s about Time, Johnnie Walker
Subtitled “A Call to the Camino de Santiago.” This is a short and colorful book which
main purpose appears to be to help people make the decision to hike the
camino. White pages are the main narrative, blue pages are profiles of different pilgrims
and the 4 yellow pages are a description of his Skihoku Trail (88 temples) hike in Japan.
The book is loaded with information and good stories. However, if you have done a camino
already, you know the information already, but still the stories are good. The book would
be great for giving to a person that has never hiked the camino and you are encouraging
to do so. For that purpose I would give it 4 stars. But for someone who has already
hiked a camino I would give it less than that. 3 out of 5 stars.
Notes:
It should be noted that Danielle Aird has a new book out called “Who’s on the Camino,
101 Pilgrim Experiences on the Way to Santiago.” Also, Brendan McManus has a
new book about his second hike of the Camino Ignaciano. It’s called “Brothers in Arms”
because he hikes the camino with another guy, a Dublin Taxi Driver. That should be an
interesting book because it’s a Catholic Priest hiking with a regular guy.
Originally posted on the internet on December 2, 2022
Since my previous post called 4 Camino Related Books was such a hit,
I decided to do another post like it.
Su Camino, doing the Camino Frances in 20 days by Brien Crothers
Nice book with good resources such as key phrases in Spanish, Packing list, etc. But the actual account of the trip is fairly plain. At one point he says they spend an enjoyable evening listening to the stories of an English Pilgrim named Eddy. That’s nice, how about relaying one of those stories. Also, the writer was an adventure racer earlier in his life and is in shape much better than a normal person. In other words, what he is doing is pretty much unrealistic to an average pilgrim. I didn’t find anything offensive about the book but I didn’t find anything that overly inspired me, either. The resources at the end of the book are good, but you can find the same stuff in almost every guidebook. 2 out of 5 stars
The Way of the Wind by John Pearson
John Pearson must have had some sort of score card to keep track of all the people he met on the camino. At one point in Santiago he recognizes and congratulates a pilgrim he met one time 30 days earlier on a train going to St Jean Pied de Port. Nice story with lots of details. In the middle of the book, right when the account gets to be a little redundant, he wakes us up with a personal story from his past. Many photos but I wish he would put captions on them. 4 out of 5 stars
I’ll Push You by Patrick Gray and Justin Skeesuck
Generally considered one of the best books about hiking the camino. A guy with a debilitating disease wonders whether the Camino could be done in a wheel chair and his best friend says “I’ll push you.” A special wheelchair is made and a few people decide to join in the quest, such as Ted, the guy they refer to as “Team Ted” for is great abilities to pull the wheelchair with a harness. Patrick and Justin take turns writing the book. At the end it starts reading like the bible where they each start saying how much better they can be as men. Sounds like they are pretty good already to me. I liked watching the movie after reading the book. I like the movie because they have interviews with many more people than just Patrick and Justin. 4 out of 5 stars
On the Ignation Way, by Jose Luis Iriberri and Chris Lowney
A series of essays by different authors on different subjects relating to the Way of Ignatius. The Way of Ignatius is a Camino that basically goes the opposite direction than the Camino Frances. The Camino retraces the actual route that Ignatius did in 1522. It starts in Basque Country at the boyhood home of Ignatius. It goes south to Navarette, where Ignatius received some money owed to him by the Duke of Navarre, then he goes east through Logrono, Zaragoza, Frago, Llieda to Monserat. Then he finally settles in Manressa. The 6 miles between Navarette and Logrono coincide with the Camino Frances except going the opposite way. The book has a series of essays related to either Ignatius or being a pilgrim, but there is very little actual accounts of hiking the actual camino. Chapter titles (essays) include “Ignatius of Loyola, the History of a Pilgrim,” “A Way of Healing, My Ignation Way,” “Pilgrimage as an Instrument of Personal Transformation and Growth,” and many more. The second half of the book contains the daily prayers using the Spiritual Exercises written by Ignatius. This book contains fairly dry writing and may not be what the average pilgrim is looking for. Plus this is a seldom-walked Camino. But if you really like St Ignatius, it’s good. 3 out of 5 stars
Finding Myself on the Way, by Micheal Burnett
It should be noted that I bought this book directly from Micheal Burnett when we were both at a Camino Event here in Wisconsin. The book has a really good description of him meeting people and hiking the Camino Frances in the early parts of the book. Then the 50 year old author meets a 25 year old lady who was volunteering at an albergue. She sets him off by indicating that she is interested in him. The only problem is that she bused backward to volunteer at the albergue and now she is busing forward to continue her Camino. Micheal starts hiking the camino like a madman with very long days and big miles to catch up to her. He finally catches up to her and their camino grinds down to a snail’s pace as he has sex with her every night. In the First Edition of this Book the sex was so graphic that Micheal had to re-edit the book due to complaints. 3 out of 5 stars
Note:
Micheal Burnett went on a pilgrimage this last spring and may be writing another book.
Originally published on the internet on January 29, 2022
Hi, I have recently read 4 camino related books and I though I would
relay my opinions about them.
The Camino by Shirley Maclaine:
The Book starts out good enough but she starts having
dreams and in the later part of the book the dreams take over. It’s a bunch of new aged
metaphysical gobblygook about Atlantis. One out of five stars
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway:
Not a book about the Camino, but it involves
several locations on the Camino Frances. The novel follows former Soldier Jake Barnes
from nightlife in Paris to fishing in Burgette but mostly captures the San Fermin Festival
(Running of the Bulls) in Pamplona. Four out of five Stars
Off the Road by Jack Hitt:
The book follows Jack’s Pilgrimage from St Jean Pied de Port
to Santiago. Jack does meet up with an interesting bunch of people hiking the Camino.
Unfortunately, Jack veers off the Camino and spends some chapters on stuff that is only
barely related. Some of it is fairly gross. Jack should have learned from Hemingway
not to mention some things. For instance, Jake Barnes is a former soldier who was
injured in World War 1, but Hemingway never mentions what the injury is. I bought the
Jack Hitt book because the movie The Way is based on part of it. But I could only
find one or two scenes in the movie that may have been attributed to Hitt. Two out of Five Stars
Finding Santiago By Don Thomas:
An amazing collection of stories about hiking caminos and also
volunteering at the Pilgrim’s Office. There are 56 chapters and each one has a different story. Some
of the stories are funny, some are sad and others are inspirational. It’s an easy book just to pick up
if you have ten minutes to spare and you want to do something. Most of the stories are just a few
pages long and the longest story is about 10 pages long. Five out of Five Stars.
Notes:
Some people may like the Shirley Maclaine book more than I did. But, starting at about
Chapter 15 of thebook she goes full bore into the new age dreams, and when she isn’t
writing about the dreams she is writing about avoiding the press.
That’s all for now, Todd