What the Psychic Told the Pilgrim: A Midlife Misadventure on Spain's Camino de Santiago de Compostela

This is an excellent and insightful account of a journey and its demands, not only physical, but --more importantly-- emotional and spiritual. This book walked me through my own ups and downs doing my own camino. It is a wonderful example of how the bubble that it constitutes becomes a space in which we are forced to face and reckon with our inner self, our past and those who surround us in our "real" life, off the trail. The Camino can be a roller coaster of emotions and Christmas knows how to exploit their litterary possibilites with a lot of humor and wit. I highly recommend this book.

absolutely hillarious wonderful read. Grab a glass of wine, light the fireplace, stick up the feet, and enjoy a great book......and it is funnier particularly when you know gals who have done the Camino.

I was delighted with this novel. Although it might be a memoir, I found it to be an inner exploration during a time most women are facing huge changes--such as menopause. After reading some of the previous reviews, I think some readers took the book too seriously. The traversing of the Camino de Santiago was a time of reflection and of trials for Jane Christmas. The book is her personal journey--frankly written with humor and introspection--where nothing is sacred. I'd recommend it for those craving a reading adventure.

The author is a good storyteller, and like most storytellers, might be accused of exaggerating for the sake of a good story. Did I say drama queen? No, I wouldn't do that, but don't take this book too much to heart. As you enjoy the writing, realize that if you do this walk there will be some physically demanding moments, but most people get through them. The people you meet, both the other pilgrims and the locals, will be the best part of the entire experience. This is true for the author as well, but many stories come from the hard parts. Picture a woman at age fifty, divorced, the three kids out of the house, somewhat on a whim, plunging into the Camino de Santiago adventure. Word gets out about her plans via email and word of mouth, and women of similar vintage start contacting her, asking to go with her. In May of 2004 fourteen women meet in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, most strangers to each other, expecting Jane Christmas to lead them. The author's deft touch for describing the group dynamics are what make this book unique. Some of the time she is walking alone, but still feels the tug of the group. She writes about more negative encounters with locals and other pilgrims than matches my experience, or that of most accounts I have read. I don't know what to make of that. It is easy to read encounters wrong if there are cultural differences. Our experience in the first-class hotels was that they were unbelievably gracious to scruffy pilgrims. But even Jane's negative encounters are related with a wry humor that makes them a good addition to the book. I do recommend this book for entertaining reading, but be aware that she will trod on some toes, and there are those who may feel that some subjects deserve more respect. The author's style reminds me of Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. If you enjoyed that, you are likely to enjoy this book.