Book Review: Walking Home

In 2014 , I entered Rachel Joyce's magical world of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (a book I highly recommend). Fry's quest to keep his friend alive until he can walk the distance between them, leads him to live and hope again. In 2018, I read Paul Stutzman's non-fiction account of hiking the Appalachian Trail. His journey of faith reflection led to a greater understanding of God and His purpose for our lives. When my blogging friend, Amy, highlighted poet Simon Armitage's book Walking Home: A Poet's Journey, I made a point of requesting an inter-library loan to access the book. I'm not at all familiar with this author or his poetry. I was more interested in, once again, learning what he gleaned from the journey.

Many writers attribute inspiration to time spent walking. Dickens was a famous walker. His nightly treks through London peopled his books with the likes of the Artful Dodger, Little Nell, Scrooge, and a host of other vivid characters. Simon Armitage took a page from the Lake District poets and walked the Northern countryside of England to glean inspiration. In 2010, he set out on The Pennine Way. Instead of following the usual path (south to north), Armitage walked north to south, so that his walk led toward his home (extra incentive to keep going). Along the way, he offered nightly poetry readings, by donation only, as a way of giving back and of assessing what others felt his poetry was worth. Sadly, Armitage offers little of his poetry along the way, but I came away wondering what I might have put in his sock at the end of his reading.

If I had to pick a pilgrimage, both to walk and to read, I would, without hesitation, select Harold Fry's journey from the south of England all the way to the north. While nature inspires, I'm more captivated by individuals along the trail. Moreover, Harold Fry's quest inspired such hope and meaning. I don't regret reading Armitage's book, but simply prefer the fictional quest over realistic sojourns through hills and valleys. Come to think of it, I'd much prefer fiction to the realistic path I'm hiking through in my life's hills and valleys.