An intensely personal, soul searching account, 16 Oct 2004

There is a saying that everyone walks their own Camino. That is true, but Sue Kenney's My Camino brings out the common threads we all share: the past experiences that influence our walk; the separation of friends and family, the physical demands of this five hundred mile journey and finally; the changes it brings to our inner selves.

The book begins interestingly with a competitive rowing scene: eight women rowing across Lake Ontario: "the set cadence acts like a mantra to free the mind to focus on the body." This phrase made me instantly think of walking across the meseta. "in a moment of transformation the boat and crew's 1500 pounds propel forward with force and grace." The rowing results in a gold medal in the World Masters Rowing Championship in Montreal and provides mental resources to draw on for the challenge of the Camino.

Then comes Kenney's background: the despair of having a younger sister with terminal cancer, the typical downsizing job loss - being called to a meeting and handed a box to pack your office belongings, age over forty, teenaged daughters, divorce. The rowing allowed her to put her anger at cancer into the water.

The demands of job and family result in a lifetime of giving and little time for herself. Sue Kenney looks at the Camino as an opportunity to face her fears and love herself.

She started her trip in early November, so had a very different experience than those walking in the popular months of May through September. Many refugios were closed. Winter weather was setting in and pilgrim numbers had dwindled to the very few. Those who have walked or are contemplating walking off season will find much to relate to in the thread of the physical journey that makes up most of this book. They can appreciate the themes of pain, friendship, rain, mud, distance and darkness, closed refugios. During a highpoint of the day, a hot shower, Kenney talks about "the simple pleasures of being a pilgrim."

During this off season time the refugio experience was quite different than it would have been a few weeks earlier. Sometimes a refugio would be staffed by caring hospitaleros, but frequently refugios were not staffed and just a basic room with the companionship of a few other pilgrims. The pilgrim experience during this season is usually a more intimate one with the fewer numbers of travelers. Frequently they would share meals in the refugio kitchens.

One of her chapters, "The Honor of Being a Pilgrim", talks about the freely given support one gets from the local people who honor the effort of those on pilgrimage. She talks about an old women caught her attention from across a square, made the sign of the cross and bowed her head with respect.

One thing that is very clear in this book is Sue Kenney's openness with others on the Camino and with her readers.. She connects with people even though her Spanish is very limited. Her search for self love is not my search and though she finds herself on the pilgrimage, those parts of the story don't hold my interest as much as the tale of the walk itself. Contacts with home happen infrequently on the Camino, and I do relate to the rejuvenation drawn as she gets a phone call through to her daughters.

I think Sue Kenney looks at this as an inspirational self help story, but it is also a fine adventure tale and a worthy addition to the modern pilgrim accounts of the Camino.