The author's first exploration of the Camino de Santiago, the ancient pilgrimage route to Santiago in the north-west of Spain.
Noel Braun yearns to walk the Camino, the ancient pilgrimage route that leads across France and Spain to Santiago de Compostela. Since the suicide of Maris, his beloved wife of forty-two years, he has struggled to find himself. But is it pure madness? He's an old bloke. At seventy-seven years, he should be sensible. act his age and relax in a rocking chair. Can his body and spirit withstand the demands? Can he leave family and friends behind? Noel believes this is a journey he MUST undertake. It's a compulsion, a spiritual quest of self-discovery, an urgent need to commune with the world around and beyond him.
When Noel begins his journey, he discovers it's not just the rigorous demands of the physical world he must answer. The territory of the heart and soul has its own challenges, which have him searching for spiritual and emotional insights. His travels are interwoven with accounts of the many engaging characters he meets. In time he realises he himself is one of the Camino's characters.
The Day Was Made for Walking merges the spiritual with the physical, the ancient with the contemporary. It is a memoir, but also a glimpse into and a travel guide.
Excerpt
"I was shit-scared. My heart was pounding. I could smell my own sweat.
I was in legendary Le Puy-en-Velay in the Haute Loire France and stood in the porch of the cathedral Notre Dame de Puy, striking in its dominance. I looked past the ancient town below, beyond the modern city to the surrounding mountain ridges and imagined over the horizon that Santiago and Saint James were beckoning.
I glanced down the long daunting flights of steps. I could think of no valid reason to delay, so, before I lost my nerve, I took my first wobbly step into the unknown."
Professional Reviews
Wendy O'Hanlon Acres Australia
Author Noel Braun's prose is beautiful. in this book he pours out his emotions, his life story and his observations of life without reserve and with honesty.
I want to follow in his footsteps - light the candles in stone chapels, share the bread and cheese, be inspired by the uplifting wayside graffiti, drink in the wonder, and rejoice at the tapestry and resilient human spirit.
If any reader is not inspired by this book, by this man's amazing achievements - you are probably dead already. Go on, live a little! Read this book, cherish life more and make big plans.
Susan Casey, USA
I found this an inspiring book to read. It is a great example of how a courageous human spirit can overcome enormous physical obstacles. It made be feel that I wanted to set out on the Camino.
Avid book reader, Australia
This is a book of one man's journey to find himself after the death of his wife. This book is inspiring, an uplifting journey of self-discovery along a walk that is best described as tough. His commitment, his sense of wonder and joy are infectious. You cry with him, you are sad, happy, you laugh with him and see how his life is changed by this journey and his discovery of God again in his life. His joy of meeting people and the times they spend together on the Camino for him they become his family. If you are looking for a book of inspiration and a story of hope and commitment by a man who was in his late seventies who undertook this incredible walk this book is for you.
Join me as we travel together on the road called "Aging." I will be sharing my personal experiences with you and offer ideas on how we can better navigate the complex byways of our older years. Grief, healing, generations, ancestors, and more.
