Book Review: Miles to Go

Miles to Go is the second installment of The Walk series by Richard Paul Evans. I seem to enjoy listening to walking books while I walk on the treadmill. Somehow someone else's walk provides imaginary scenery for me without having to get out into the chill temperatures and barren terrain these days. Although I have two other audio books ahead of me, I will probably pick this series up again after listening to those.

Following the death of his beloved wife and the loss of his home and business, Alan Christoffersen is on a walk from Seattle, Washington to Key West, Florida. As this book opens, Alan is accosted by a gang of thugs and stabbed on the side of the road. His recovery will take some time, but thankfully, God has provided a guardian angel to care for him in his time of need. As Alan relies on Angel's kindness, he discovers his own ability to help heal her wounds as well.

Although I enjoyed the characters of Angel and Kailamai, I grew a little tired of hearing each day's food fare. I read that in order to write these books, the author went with his daughter on his own motoring journey across the nation. He certainly picked up the flavor of the landscape, but could have possibly left off all the descriptions of burgers and sloppy joes.

Still, I took several good messages from this book. The first is obviously the benefit we gain when we focus on healing another's pain instead of focusing on our own pain. We can all do a world of good to others if we only look for opportunities to assist and befriend. The second message came from the end of the book, when Alan is ruminating on the Crazy Horse monument in South Dakota. As he says, we can view our mountains as an obstacle or a canvas. We must choose. Moreover, the tasks we have been given in life may never come to completion, but the important thing is the change it brings in us as we pursue those tasks to the best of our ability.