A pilgrim’s journey: This woman hiked hundreds of kilometres to find peace
They say the Camino calls you and you walk when you’re ready, when you need it most. October of 2013 was that time for me. I was celebrating the 25-year anniversary of my cancer survival and I had a successful career fundraising for the hospital that had saved my life.
I had hoped to go with a partner, a friend, or a group of people. But at 56, after two marriages, with no children, I was on my own again. The first marriage took place during my cancer treatment, when it seemed I might die. It lasted six years, ending after my leukemia was gone.
The second marriage ended three years ago after fifteen years. As a second chance at love, I’d fought hard to keep it alive, reluctant to admit defeat. But there was a huge sense of relief when it was finally over. Counselling helped me understand how my choices had contributed to the demise of both marriages. On the other side of my grief, I asked myself what I wanted. I was surprised when I didn’t know the answer.
I started my pilgrimage in the small town of Astorga, after an overnight flight to Madrid and a four-hour bus ride through the greenish-orange hills of northern Spain. Exhausted, I booked a hotel room, determined to get a good night’s sleep. But first, I walked through town looking for Camino markers—yellow arrows, painted on walls and sidewalks that would show me the way.
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Additional photos and podcast are also available. The story is excerpted from my memoir about my quest to become a better person after surviving leukemia when I was thirty.
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