The Way Is Made by Walking: A Pilgrimage Along the Camino de Santiago [Paperback]

Arthur Paul Boers (Author), Eugene H. Peterson (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2, 2007

The Word Guild 2008 Canadian Christian Writing Awards finalist! Pilgrimage is a spiritual discipline not many consider. Aren't the destinations far? Don't they involve a lot of time and walking? Just a few years ago, Arthur Paul Boers wasn't thinking about pilgrimage either. But he began to sense a deep call from God to walk the five-hundred-mile pilgrimage route known as Camino de Santiago, ending in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, at a cathedral that is said to hold the relics of the apostle James. In these pages he opens to us his incredible story of renewed spirituality springing from an old, old path walked by millions before him. It's a story of learning to pray in new ways, embracing simplicity, forming community, living each day centered and focused, depending on God to provide. Joined by hundreds of others from all over the world, Boers points the way to deeper intimacy with God--a way made by walking in faith.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Everything seems up for grabs, and nothing seems fulfilling any longer. But in this unassuming and engaging chronicle Arthur Boers shows that gravity and grace can be recovered step by step. And for those of us who can't go on a pilgrimage, there are wonderful lessons to be learned from one who did." (Albert Borgmann, author of Real American Ethics )

"Pack your fantasy knapsack; walk with Arthur Boers on the adventure of a lifetime, the five-hundred-mile pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. What a lively, sensitive, down-to-earth and deeply spiritual guide Boers is! His tales as a pilgrim will so captivate your imagination that you could find yourself in real time, walking stick in hand, making your way along that sacred path made holy by the faith of countless pilgrims." (Keith J. Egan, Saint Mary's College/Notre Dame University )

"In a postmodern world in which time and space seem compressed and lives of leisure are driven by frenetic consumption, we should not be surprised that many have turned to the medieval practice of pilgrimage as a vital spiritual antidote. Arthur Boers's reflections from his pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago stand out for their honesty and gentle wisdom. As a Mennonite participating in a medieval Catholic spiritual discipline, Boers fills The Way Is Made by Walking with startling insights and fresh perspectives into the spiritual journey that all must make." (Richard R. Gaillardetz, Murray/Bacik Professor of Catholic Studies, University of Toledo and author of By What Authority )

"I was already recommending this book before I finished reading it, for Arthur Paul Boers is an outstanding (yet humble) mentor, guiding our steps into the Way and ways of Jesus. He recounts his pilgrimage warmheartedly and at a trekker's pace so that we are gently invited to enter into it and engage in its lessons. If you walk with him on the ancient path he treads, you will find yourself inspired, questioned, disturbed and transformed." (Marva Dawn, author of The Sense of the Call and Keeping the Sabbath Wholly )

"[Arthur] Boers doesn't so much tell us about pilgrimage as invite us, in his lively and colorful prose, to join him. . . . This is a book to savor and read and then reread as we learn to live pilgrimage so that we will never again reduce walking to just getting across the street." (From the foreword by Eugene H. Peterson, translator of The Message )

Product Details

• Paperback: 219 pages
• Publisher: IVP Books (August 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830835075
• ISBN-13: 978-0830835072
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #490,992 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful Camino Pilgrimage by a man of God, February 7, 2008

By 

Timecheck "backpack45.com - Camino Chronicle... (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Way Is Made by Walking: A Pilgrimage Along the Camino de Santiago (Paperback)

I'm constantly struck by how each book about the Camino brings a unique lens to bear. How many variations can there be when describing a demanding trek of many days? It's a classic play, the walker as the hero, with a flaw of physical frailty and self-doubt, with the adversary being the distance and the climate. With the help of the ally - the support of strangers, and for some, faith - the walker triumphs; or there is failure and the play is a tragedy.

Arthur Boers gives us another one of these unique views. His is the insight of a Mennonite pastor and teacher, walking the walk, and analyzing the experience in terms of his faith and his occupation. Of Dutch background, he speaks Dutch, French, English and Spanish, along with a little German.

The thread of the book is of course, the journey. The reader will be mentally tracking him across Spain, sharing the experiences, but what I found the most instructive was listening to this man of God share his daily thoughts.

As the author encounters the situations of daily walking, he finds correlations and metaphors in scripture. Just some of his daily thoughts: Feet get a lot of attention in scripture, and are an important part of the biblical experience. Walking can be a spiritual process. In current times, walking is an act of protest. What if everyone walked to church? Churchgoers attend for a variety of reasons, not always spiritual, so why be surprised to find walkers on pilgrimage for a variety of reasons?

The book has several appendices on practical matters, but one I mentally filed away for the future. That appendix listed a number of obscure pilgrimage routes. We all are familiar with the big three of Santiago, Rome and Jerusalem, but have you heard of Asperen, South Holland, Netherlands, or Croagh Patrick, County Mayo, Ireland, or Holy Island, Lindisfarne, England? To name a few.

I recommend this book particularly for those making a faith-based journey. The only other Camino book I can think of that is clearly faith based is Walk in a Relaxed Manner: Life Lessons from the Camino.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pilgrimage without leaving home., September 15, 2008

By 

J.Writer (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Way Is Made by Walking: A Pilgrimage Along the Camino de Santiago (Paperback)

This was a total surprise. To prepare for a pilgrimage I read portions of the book slowly for months and found that it led me on a deep, transforming internal pilgrimage. I hated to have the book end. The actual pilgrimage I took didn't compare with the internal richness I gained as I read the book. There were no overt exhortations telling me what to think or believe or experience but simply Arthur de Boers sharing his own experience on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. I will read it again and again I am sure.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A spiritual walk, August 4, 2008

By 

Paul J. Boucher - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Way Is Made by Walking: A Pilgrimage Along the Camino de Santiago (Paperback)

I am planning to walk the Camino de Santiago next May and have been reading a variety of books by very different people with different reasons for doing the pilgrimage. I personally want the experience to be spiritual and provide me with time to reflect on the past and explore what comes next in my life. I feel the author did that on his journey. I had a hard time putting the book down and was disapointed when I finished. An outstanding book.