“The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry”
The story of a pilgrimage whether it be a hike up the Pacific Coast Trail as depicted in Cheryl Strayed’s book “Wild,” a bike ride through Spain (It’s Not About the Tapas by Polly Evans) or the infamous 500 mile walk from southern France to western Spain called the Camino de Santiago can be inspiring. These types of adventures are usually triggered by a crisis or life changing event (the Camino de Santiago is often called The European Divorcee Trail) and center around a person committing to a physically challenging adventure to find meaning, closure, or simply time to think. When I hear of a pilgrimage, the desire for personal enlightenment and a better understanding of self comes to mind and this is the overriding theme in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Read more 
“Wild”
Cheryl Strayed, author of “Wild” is a 43-year old writer, wife, and mother who lives in Portland, Oregon. When Strayed was 22 years old, she lost her 45-year old mother to lung cancer and spent the next four years alternating between trying to preserve her family and her marriage, both of which disintegrated by the time she was 26 years old. Recognizing the need for a change, Strayed (the name she chose for herself after her divorce) set out to hike 1,100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), a 2,663 mile trail that lies east of the Pacific coast from California to Washington, and then write about the experience. Read more
Paddock Post 