Walking Distance: Pilgrimage, Parenthood, Grief, and Home Repairs

I enjoyed this book about a couple who walks the Camino de Santiago. Their story continues after the pilgrimage, which is very different from most hiking books. It is a very personal and moving story.

A gem of a book! This is a moving story, told by a husband, with humour and honesty. Beautiful!

If I were looking for a book to read and came across Walking Distance, I do not think I would have given it a second look if I had been depending on the cover of the book to spark my interest. If I followed my normal habit – letting the cover draw me in – I would have missed a great story.David Hlavsa takes the reader along on a walking journey, a pilgrimage. The author and his wife walked 400 miles across Spain on the Camino de Santiago. They had suffered loss and their hope was waning and [...]

Several reasons prompted me to say yes to reading this book: one, the author and his wife struggled through infertility for many years; we have that in common. Two, they live in my part of the world. Three, they walked the Camino de Santiago; while we do not yet have that in common, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that someday we might, and that potential intrigues me.David Hlavsa’s story is several things. It’s a travelogue of sorts, with twists. It’s an exploration of faith. [...]

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this book. I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would but I can't pinpoint why exactly. I thought the premise behind the book was very interesting and I enjoyed learning about the pilgrimage of Camino de Santiago. I also found it inspiring how they applied the things they learned on that journey to their lives and the difficulties they went through afterwards. I think perhaps I thought there would be more about their marriage, parenthood a [...]

This is a very personal story written by David Hlavsa about he and his wife's journey walking the Way of Saint James, the Camino de Santiago, the 400+ miles across Northern Spain from the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela. Before a friend recently told me that she wanted to make this pilgrimage, I had only briefly heard of it. I assume that there are as many reasons to walk this trail as there are people who have traveled it. But I wanted to learn more. This has shown me what a profound mark it [...]

"There is a deeper reality, just under this one: Like Everyman, we are, all of us, on a pilgrimage to the end of the world: and we know it, but it’s hard to remember; perhaps people who pray remember more often; and then there are people who grieve. When you grieve, you remember. This remembering puts a distance between you and those who are not grieving. The language of their country is not the language of your country. You become a stranger passing through, and you are on fire. Everything is [...]

Disclosure: I won this book in a giveaway.I really had no expectations when I started this memoir but once I got into this book I could not put it down. I am not typically a memoir reader, but this memoir is different than most. At timeshumorous, philosophical, and sad and always well written, this book tells the story of a married coupke's journey to parenthood (both literally and figuratively), of loss and joy and life. Well written and compelling--I highly recommend it!

David Hlavsa’s _Walking Distance_ is a short but deep gem of a book. Seldom do I read contemporary memoir that is such a delightful balance of grief, humor, self-reflection, and great story-telling. Hlavsa’s book, straight-forward yet shot through with lyricism, tells of the pilgrimage he took with his wife, Lisa, on the Camino de Santiago. The author juxtaposes moments of humor with moments of pain, and the reader’s life is richer for the love Hlavsa shares through his book. I loved it.

Walking Distance is lyrical, dramatic, tender, insightful, and an engrossing read. It's a memoir of a marriage by a husband, of parenthood by a father, of two sons, James who was stillborn and Ben who lived. It's a memoir of a pilgrimage, spiritual and philosophical as well as humorous and quite witty. It's really a heart-grabbing love story. I give it five thousand stars.

This is such a beautifully written book, with lyrical language and a lot of humor. It is, ultimately, about a marriage--from its cheerful adventures, through its petty bickering, to its deep divides. Fortunately, Lisa and David are such an endearing couple, you'll wish you knew them in real life.

A moving journey through life and love.