Walking with Sam
A Father, a Son, and Five Hundred Miles Across Spain
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4.4 • 39 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
An intimate, funny, and poignant New York Times bestseling travel memoir following award-winning author and actor Andrew McCarthy as he walks the Camino de Santiago with his son Sam.
When Andrew McCarthy's eldest son began to take his first steps into adulthood, McCarthy found himself wishing time would slow down. Looking to create a more meaningful connection with Sam before he fled the nest, as well as recreate his own life-altering journey decades before, McCarthy decided the two of them should set out on a trek like few others: 500 miles across Spain's Camino de Santiago.
Over the course of the journey, the pair traversed an unforgiving landscape, having more honest conversations in five weeks than they'd had in the preceding two decades. Discussions of divorce, the trauma of school, McCarthy's difficult relationship with his own father, fame, and Flaming Hot Cheetos threatened to either derail their relationship or cement it. Walking With Sam captures this intimate, candid and hopeful expedition as the father son duo travel across the country and towards one another.
Customer Reviews
Walking with Sam
Buen Camino
Life-Affirming Read!!!
I’ve walked three Caminos (Francés 2019, del Norte 2022, and Portugués 2023). Andrew’s book captures most of what many of us that have undertaken this journey have experienced: the quirky people you meet along the way and the stories they tell; the moments of wonder as you look upon the Meseta or the many beautiful cathedrals; the 0500 sound of plastic bags crunching as inconsiderate pilgrims repack their usually-overflowing packs right there in the room with you; the endless bocadillos de jamón y cafés con leche; the raw stink at the end of the day and the nightly routine completed over and over; and the moments when you reach deep inside to get up that hill that looks impossible in that very moment. And you love it all…well most of it.
I enjoyed pasting excerpts of this book as captions to my own photos or videos of my first Camino and sending them to my girlfriend. She would like to walk the Camino together one day, but, for now, she was overjoyed to take the virtual journey!
I was moved each time I gazed silently at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela after the long journey(s), but moved with equal measure as this story came to an end and I wiped away tears. I guess the Camino beckons again.
Finally, Andrew’s relationship with his son is at the heart of this book. I can relate to much of what’s written in these pages as the father of a similar-aged daughter. I hope to walk this journey with her as well one day. Funny, emotional, superb details, and keenly paced. Well done Andrew!
♥️
Loved every step of the journey-I could almost see the entire countryside as they walked it. Thanks for sharing.