My Father, My Daughter: Pilgrims on the Road to Santiago

Rating:
Summary: A Transformative Trek
Review: I found this book a fascinating expoloration of a father-daughter relationship that matured and transformed while the two were walking an arduous trek together. The writing is clear and lovely. The book is never pious or sentimental;it feels very honest, acknowledging rifts, difficulties, and a unifying commitment to completing this journey together.

The form works very well; father and daughter each wrote separate small chapters that sit side by side. The contrasting voices complement each other, creating a layered texture that is part of the interest of the book. Additionally, the journey itself is very interesting-- through the Spanish landscape and with fascinating encounters in the pilgrim refugios along the way. I felt like a vicarious traveller as I read, and the book made me want to go on a long trek myself with my parents or husband or one of my children-- such a powerful and transformative experience!

Rating:
Summary: Bravo, brava
Review: I really liked this book--its honest, short and to the point...a Camino book where recognizing the outer landmarks is secondary to the witnessing of a profound inner journey, told by both father and daughter in a believable, poignant conversation.

Not a boots and socks book, but a profound metaphor for both a spiritual and a familial pilgrimage together.

Rating:
Summary: A Journey on Many Levels
Review: My Father, My Daughter is a delightful read. I happily went through it in a single sitting. The authors strike a lovely balance between glimpses of what happens on the walk itself, their companions and surroundings--what happens between them as this adult daughter and father grow in their knowledge and love of each other--and what happens within them as they live and reflect on their hopes for this walking experience. It is a pilgrim journey on several levels and I am grateful they have shared it with us. Thanks to the Schells!

Rating:
Summary: A Journey on Many Levels
Review: My Father, My Daughter is a delightful read. I happily went through it in a single sitting. The authors strike a lovely balance between glimpses of what happens on the walk itself, their companions and surroundings--what happens between them as this adult daughter and father grow in their knowledge and love of each other--and what happens within them as they live and reflect on their hopes for this walking experience. It is a pilgrim journey on several levels and I am grateful they have shared it with us. Thanks to the Schells!

Rating:
Summary: A realistic view of the Camino pilgimage
Review: The idea of a book about the camino by a father and daughter was intriguing. I actually ordered the book directly from them and received it promptly and personally autographed.

It was worth the reading!

Rating:
Summary: Walking on different levels to Santiago
Review: This certainly one-read book about a pilgrimage to Santiago, reveals not only part of the daily pleasures and horrors to a pilgrim (very recognisable for pilgrims) and gives an occasional sight at the history of the Camino for more than 1300 years; it also gives a good account of the interchange between a blister stricken father and a daugher scared for a shortage of beds to sleep at night. This all set in an entertaining "dialog of chapters" written by Dad and Daughter and the questions they carry with them to Santiago.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing Camino
Review: This is probably my least favorite book about the pilgrimage to Santiago. There is very little (in fact, almost no) spiritual insight or even cultural information about the areas experienced. Instead, there is a great deal of complaining about blisters and Germans on the camino. I really cannot recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: double pilgrimage
Review: Yes, I loved it. This tag-team memoir takes readers along on an honest, humorous, happy walk, all the way across the Pyrenees from France and across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela. Along the way (and the phrase is used honestly here) we hear the thoughts of each writer, father and daughter, as they take turns telling the story of their journey. Recommended for everyone who has ever thought of taking off -- and taking on new meaning.

Brian Bouldrey's anthology on pilgrimage, John Steinbeck's memoir "Travels with Charley" -- name your favorite precedent. Then go.

At this writing I remember Donald's rueful pain at blisters and over-preparation, and Maria's guiding him (c'mon, dad!) through city and countryside. ...