Santiago Tales

SANTIAGO TALESA journey in search of loveBeth is a woman whose life is falling apart; there are problems with her marriage, her career is in the doldrums and her health is not good. When she discovers her husband has been leading a double life she realises she has to get away from the cosy village life where everyone knows your business and spend some time alone. She decides to do something she has never done before. She embarks on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. As Beth walks the five hundred miles across the north of Spain she is tested both physically and emotionally. She reaches the depths of despair and feels like giving up but then she meets other pilgrims—a soldier injured in Afghanistan, a woman who is looking for her lost son, a devout nun, a widower who thinks his life is over and many others—and each one has a tale to tell. Everyone has a secret in their life. When she arrives in Santiago de Compostela, five weeks later, she realises that the journey has changed her in a way she never expected. ‘Joan Fallon's book, Santiago Tales, lets you walk 790 kilometres in the shoes of a modern-day pilgrim on the ancient Way of St. James across northern Spain. Her book illuminates the entire experience, from bedbugs and blisters to the camaraderie of the hostels and long days of solitude and contemplation.