Review
'The most remarkable book I've ever read about the thing which you hope isn't going to happen' John Bayley, author of Iris 'What stunningly beautiful and moving writing ... the book sings with hope' Brendan Kennelly 'Quite literally, monumental' Sunday Independent, Ireland 'Beautifully balanced' The Scotsman 'An astonishing pilgrimage from rage to redemption' The Guardian
Ross Leckie, The Times
A requiem which will first rend, and then refresh, even the most hurt of human hearts
Sunday Independent (Dublin), June 5, 2005
'quite literally, monumental'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
When Christopher Rush's wife died suddenly of cancer, leaving him with two young children, his world fell apart. He not only stopped writing, he also lost faith in everything that had informed his existence: literature, the arts, his role as teacher, his love of nature, the society of friends. Nothing could cure his almost suicidal depression. At last he decided to try to reclaim his sanity in the least expected of ways. A confirmed non-traveller, he went to France, bought a donkey and disappeared into the mountains of the Cevennes. Like a fellow Scot, Robert Louis Stevenson, who had made the same journey over a century before, he hoped to find a new reason to live. To Travel Hopefully is a memoir of grief and recovery, expressed in an intensely private but universal language, which records a compelling journey of the spirit from defeat to victory. Anyone who has had to confront bereavement will find in these pages an understanding, experience and expression of the human predicament which go far beyond mere sympathy.
About the Author
Christopher Rush was born in St Monans and for thirty years taught literature in Edinburgh. His books include A Twelvemonth and a Day (recently listed as one of the 100 greatest Scottish books ever) and the highly acclaimed To Travel Hopefully. He now lives near his childhood home.
