To Each Their Own Camino: One Woman's Walk Along Spain's Camino de Santiago

Roxey Edwards

Jun 2018 · FriesenPress

About this ebook

There I was, an average middle-aged woman living and working on Canada’s west coast. How, then, did I come to be walking this ancient path, family and friends left behind, and everything I owned in a pack on my back? Exchanging my office pumps for hiking boots and my purse for a backpack, for forty days I followed the Camino de Santiago, a historic pilgrimage of almost eight hundred kilometres across northern Spain.
During my journey to Santiago, I experienced climbs and descents that challenged my endurance, ancient towns and historical landmarks that excited my imagination, and endless plains and stretches of solitude that tested my soul. I bent against blinding snow and pummeling winds, endured drenching rains, and basked in brilliant sunshine. My steps led over rocky trails, through whispering forests, among dancing grasslands, and through bustling cosmopolitan cities and crumbling towns.
A colourful, international cast of characters strolled through my days, from an irreverent Irishman, to a Polish political prisoner, to a young German couple packing their new baby, to a Tennessee twosome that was walking the world. Their stories were as varied as the landscapes through which we passed. Some sought spiritual renewal, some walked to exercise grief, and some in hope or gratitude for personal miracles. Others just enjoyed walking, seeing a new country, and meeting new people.
Each experienced their own Camino in their own way. Ordinary people living ordinary lives, suddenly stepping out on an extraordinary journey, we shared food, wine, and bunk rooms. Through laughter and tears, we broke down barriers of language, religion, and nationality. Strangers became friends, and friends became family, some just for a day or two . . . and some for a lifetime.

Ratings and reviews

While I cannot rate this book in its entirety, I can speak to the free excerpt that I read. It was hurtful to see that Scott's feelings were not considered by his own mother, as he had requested not to be in her book. Roxey had mentioned to Scott that this book was about her life and that he is a part of her history. I can agree on that, however I do not agree that putting Scott's divorce, grief, made up "mannerisms," or "sheepish" replies, represent Scott fairly whatsoever. Speaking of Scott and his brother being in line with cancer further shows the lack of respect for her children along with a poorly informed response around a devastating disease. Roxey went against her own son's wishes to remain out from her book and in fact focused on his pain and anguish. When Roxey came to ask Scott for permission to use him in her book, Scott politely said he was uncomfortable with it. Scott asked to please respect him and his daughter's privacy as Roxey's book had no need to showcase information around his personal life. When Roxey denied his wishes, she noted that her publisher stated she had a legal right to include him no matter how Scott felt. The book was supposed to be about her adventures through the Camino for which Scott was supportive of, not the tales of her family's private life. As none of you probably know, Roxey told Scott that all of the healing from her Camino was destroyed by Scott's ongoing divorce in the first two weeks after her return. That does not make the spiritual healing of the Camino sound very profound. She made Scott's divorce and the pain from it about herself, and further decided to broadcast it for anyone who chooses to read her book. I am sure many readers out there can relate to wanting to keep what happens in their life private, especially when it comes to situations that are most sensitive. Had the books focus been on a travel of the two of them on the Camino, or strictly about his help in her preparation, then that may have been more suitable. However, this is not the case and writing life matters of a family member for profit is distasteful and disrespectful. In this way, I think it is safe to say that Roxey is far more interested in this 'book' than respecting her family's wishes. Travel is travel, and doesn't logically include things about children's personal lives. Scott and I both feel exploited and violated by Roxey with her book, which unfortunately pairs with how she has treated us.

This is a beautiful and insightful book that offers a really wonderful story of Edwards' journey both emotionally and physically while walking the Camino. Having read this book in it's entirety, I have to say that I wholeheartedly disagree with the review given by Tori Botten. I could not find a single passage in this book where Edwards spoke disrespectfully or distastefully about her son or his daughter. This book is nothing if not a testament to how much she loves, admires and cares for not only her son but her whole family. This story is about a spiritual journey that Edwards went through during what she considered to be a pivotal time in her life and it is a beautifully written and well executed memoir (with a travel aspect) that I personally, thoroughly enjoyed. While offering information and insights about her journey along the Camino, Edwards also allows herself to be vulnerable, imperfect and honest which is what anyone with an appreciation for literature would hope for from a personal memoir. While I obviously can't speculate on matters inside the author's family life, I certainly did not ever get the impression while reading this book that she was anything less than a champion with great love and respect for her children. I loved this book and I will be recommending it to anyone and everyone that I know.

About the author

Roxey Edwards’ daily life was weighed down by schedules and responsibilities, with little time to reflect on her purpose in the world. Having heard about the Camino de Santiago, she felt called to take the journey herself as a way of reinvigorating and refocusing her life. In preparation, Roxey sought more than a standard guide. She pursued information on the pearls and the pitfalls, the little things to watch for, and the big things not to miss. Upon her return, she wrote of her discoveries, with a vision of entertaining and informing future pilgrims as they prepare to make their own journey along the Camino, as well as allowing past pilgrims to relive their own Caminos through her eyes.
Roxey lives in Parksville, British Columbia, Canada, with her husband, Al, and their Welsh terrier, Kirby. Although Roxey writes all the time, this is her first book.