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Have you tried Book depository? free worldwide delivery. They are no relations of mine!Tried to get a copy, but not available on Kindle
I remember reading that book, (having read and enjoyed, in other contexts, several other books by the author, which had no bearing on the camino) and growing progressively annoyed with what seemed like a (modest) amount of intolerant whining.Here we are, starting the third book in the Forum Book Club series, as outlined on this thread. If you are still reading one of the previous books - feel free to comment on those threads anytime.
The third book is Walk in a Relaxed Manner by Joyce Rupp. I enjoyed it in a mild way and would recommend it as a, well, relaxing read. Like Codd, she had a more religious/spiritual approach to the Camino than I, but it was written in a way that I could still appreciate.
It has been a couple of years since I read it, and I don't have a copy at hand to refresh my memory. Hopefully, someone else can come along and give a more interesting review!
Yes, this book is available through Book Depository.......I just checked. I read " Walk in a Relaxed Manner" before I walked my first Camino ( CF) in 2009. I found it quite helpful a few times, when I was faced with similar situations Joyce had mentioned. Especially the sound of snoring in the Albergues.Have you tried Book depository? free worldwide delivery. They are no relations of mine!
they also do used books
I didn't try to buy it but it is available on Kindle on several of Amazon's websites for $9.99 resp. around € 9.00. Perhaps just not in your region? Geoblocking is a pain in the neck. I had a free sample of Walk in a Relaxed Manner sent to my devices so the Kindle version does exist. I just mention this as others may be interested ...Tried to get a copy, but not available on Kindle
I loved this book! Enjoy!Here we are, starting the third book in the Forum Book Club series, as outlined on this thread. If you are still reading one of the previous books - feel free to comment on those threads anytime.
The third book is Walk in a Relaxed Manner by Joyce Rupp. I enjoyed it in a mild way and would recommend it as a, well, relaxing read. Like Codd, she had a more religious/spiritual approach to the Camino than I, but it was written in a way that I could still appreciate.
It has been a couple of years since I read it, and I don't have a copy at hand to refresh my memory. Hopefully, someone else can come along and give a more interesting review!
I just began to read Joyce Rupp’s book a few days agoHere we are, starting the third book in the Forum Book Club series, as outlined on this thread. If you are still reading one of the previous books - feel free to comment on those threads anytime.
The third book is Walk in a Relaxed Manner by Joyce Rupp. I enjoyed it in a mild way and would recommend it as a, well, relaxing read. Like Codd, she had a more religious/spiritual approach to the Camino than I, but it was written in a way that I could still appreciate.
It has been a couple of years since I read it, and I don't have a copy at hand to refresh my memory. Hopefully, someone else can come along and give a more interesting review!
Is anyone reading the book now? I was hoping this thread would work like a book group and we would discuss sections as we read them. I am reading through her section on preparations, and I would like to know what other pilgrims think of this section. I have heard so many different things about what sort of preparations are needed and which are not. What are your thoughts?Here we are, starting the third book in the Forum Book Club series, as outlined on this thread. If you are still reading one of the previous books - feel free to comment on those threads anytime.
The third book is Walk in a Relaxed Manner by Joyce Rupp. I enjoyed it in a mild way and would recommend it as a, well, relaxing read. Like Codd, she had a more religious/spiritual approach to the Camino than I, but it was written in a way that I could still appreciate.
It has been a couple of years since I read it, and I don't have a copy at hand to refresh my memory. Hopefully, someone else can come along and give a more interesting review!
Let me say first that I am a control freak and do lots and lots of preparing. I have lists, plans, you name it! But what is needed? I think it’s important to work on your walking fitness. By that I mean, regular long and short walks for at least a couple months. Make sure to get in some all day walks — there is a big difference between 5 miles and 15 miles. Get your muscles and joints in shape and know your strengths and weaknesses. And I think it’s crucial to test your equipment especially shoes and socks, and your pack at weight. In my view everything else is optional and you should focus on your fears, concerns, hopes and interests!.... I have heard so many different things about what sort of preparations are needed and which are not. What are your thoughts?
I have never actually been a member of a book club. I have only read books about people in book clubs!Is anyone reading the book now? I was hoping this thread would work like a book group and we would discuss sections as we read them.
The forum is organized to cover all these topics more thoroughly than any one book could, although it is certainly interesting to observe the different approaches of these authors. The detailed side-topic discussions can be found in various threads on the forum.I am reading through her section on preparations, and I would like to know what other pilgrims think of this section. I have heard so many different things about what sort of preparations are needed and which are not. What are your thoughts?
I agree that trying to coordinate a section by section read is virtually impossible.If forum members have ideas for improving the way the book club functions, please let me know by private Conversation.
I'm still finishing re-reading Codd's book for the other thread, but I read Rupp's book a while ago and pulled it off the shelf a took a look at this section so I could respond to your post.Is anyone reading the book now? I was hoping this thread would work like a book group and we would discuss sections as we read them. I am reading through her section on preparations, and I would like to know what other pilgrims think of this section. I have heard so many different things about what sort of preparations are needed and which are not. What are your thoughts?
I’m comfortable poking about in the forum on the topics covered in Rupp’s book, but thank you.I have never actually been a member of a book club. I have only read books about people in book clubs!
I think the logistics are too difficult to control the dozens who are reading the books at different speeds, and to manage the comments, section by section. My idea was that people who are interested in these books can comment now, or next month, or even next year.
The forum is organized to cover all these topics more thoroughly than any one book could, although it is certainly interesting to observe the different approaches of these authors. The detailed side-topic discussions can be found in various threads on the forum.
From the forum home page here, scroll down to see a "cloud" of Popular Camino Topics. These tags will take you to collections of threads that have been "tagged" with that topic. If you scroll down further, you'll see the structure of the forum and sub-forums. One section is for the most Popular Routes Ending in Santiago; another is for Pilgrim Topics Related to All Routes.
The cloud of Popular Camino Topics includes "first camino", with many threads about the typical questions and concerns of first timers. Other tags that might help you in terms of preparation would be "backpack and packing", "clothing", or even "pilgrims & pilgrimage".
Another tag that hasn't risen into the most popular list is "camino basics".
If you are having any trouble navigating the forum, let me know - even by private Conversation if you prefer.
EDITED TO ADD: If forum members have ideas for improving the way the book club functions, please let me know by private Conversation.
That’s certainly an astute observation- making the connection between lots of prep time being a set up for unmet expectations and disappointments! Thanks for taking time away from what you’re reading and respond to my question.Without going into specifics about my own views on how one ought to prepare (as has been mentioned above, there are plenty of threads on the forum specific to that), I will say I tend to disagree with her that preparation is an absolute necessity to completing a Camino. Many have just taken a backpack and a pair of hiking boots , gotten on a plane to Spain, and started out (to paraphrase Rupp) and successfully finished, my son among them. That isn't to diminish the value of all of the kinds of preparation that Rupp discusses. Many have found their Caminos immeasurably improved by these preparations. The danger is that preparation can lead to expectation. I don't think it is entirely coincidence that the very next chapter of Rupp's book is "Let Go". These expectations are one of the first things one needs to learn to let go of.
I finished it a couple of days ago and just saw the thread. Happily I am am now well into The Great Westward Walk so my next review will be somewhat different unless I get banned for what follows.Here we are, starting the third book in the Forum Book Club series, as outlined on this thread. If you are still reading one of the previous books - feel free to comment on those threads anytime.
The third book is Walk in a Relaxed Manner by Joyce Rupp. I enjoyed it in a mild way and would recommend it as a, well, relaxing read. Like Codd, she had a more religious/spiritual approach to the Camino than I, but it was written in a way that I could still appreciate.
It has been a couple of years since I read it, and I don't have a copy at hand to refresh my memory. Hopefully, someone else can come along and give a more interesting review!
Ugh. I am about halfway through and couldn’t agree more. She impresses me as a control freak obsessed with her own comfort, appears to have whined the length of the Camino, and doesn’t seem to much care for others unless they are kind to her. There is nothing particularly deep or insightful about her little homilies either.For the most part I didn't enjoy it. Sister Jupp is a prolific writer of spiritual self help books (I looked her up on Amazon when she mentioned she was an author) and what we get is a Camino themed version one of these. I wondered afterwards if this was the only thing she knows how to write.
There was the odd occasion when I was taken back to the Camino but these were few and far between. Because of the nature of the book the author focuses too much on the downsides as challenges to be overcome. There are some chapters that simply list bad experiences with a homily at the end. I think we get a dirty refugio story in just about every chapter.
I began to root for her to quit and go home quite early on.Ugh. I am about halfway through and couldn’t agree more. She impresses me as a control freak obsessed with her own comfort, appears to have whined the length of the Camino, and doesn’t seem to much care for others unless they are kind to her. There is nothing particularly deep or insightful about her little homilies either.
Yes, or to reframe her approach mid-Camino.I began to root for her to quit and go home quite early on.
I finally watched The Way in lockdown last year and this struck me as well. I think it was probably inevitable given the nature of the medium. Grieving man walks Camino without incident, discovering himself and meeting nice people along the way isn't really Hollywood's style.What an interesting conversation. I will admit that I haven't re-read it yet (aside from the bit on preparation to answer the question above). I'm still finishing off the previous one by Kevin Codd. I remember really liking it and liking the spiritual thoughtfulness of it and the way it was organized. I don't remember all of the negativity. I guess I just let it pass over me. I'm sure I'll be mores sensitive to it when I re-read it.
The conversation makes me think of the movie "The Way". Many people love the movie, but I've always been irritated by the negativity in the way the characters interact with each other for most of the movie. Others just don't see that or let it pass over them and love the movie.
After reading this I picked it up again to try and see what I was missing, since other people clearly take a lot from this book.Well, I am finally getting into this book. I know. I'm not the fastest reader on the block when re-reading these books. I started a new job and that is taking a lot of time, which isn't helping things.
Anyways, while I am by no means finished the book, I'm now far enough in that I am starting to form definite opinions. And I'm remembering why I liked the book.
The book is not written like a regular memoir, following the author(s) from point A (generally SJPP, or Le Puy, or somewhere) to point B (Santiago or Finisterre or Muxia). Instead the chapters are organized around various lessons. And for me, that resonates with what I walked away from the Camino with. Yes, I deeply valued the places I saw, stayed at, ate at, the people I met, etc. But what I most wanted to preserve upon return was the lessons I learned. Lessons that were specific to the Camino but so much broader in application. When I worried about returning to the "real world" (a worry that seems to crop up frequently in these forums), the worry wan't about returning from Spain, but about losing sight of those lessons.
When I did return to Canada and to my regular job, I was asked to write about my Camino for the newsletter at work. The article I wrote was called "The long walk: five lessons from the Camino". The lessons I picked were:
On the surface, they were about the Camino, but they weren't really. They were about how we can best work with each other (it was a work newsletter, after all).
- Just keep putting one foot in front of the other
- Take care of your feet
- It's not a race
- You don't need as much as you think you do
- Support each other as we head towards the same goal
So I guess it shouldn't be much of a surprise that I appreciated Rupp's book. It is really my article, writ large to book length and apply to life. It is a reminder of the lessons that I learned on the Camino, when the day to day stresses and pressures make them fall to back of mind, and the ways (although not the specifics) of how I learned those lessons.
As I read it, I nod and say "Oh yes, I remember that. That's important." It takes me back to the Camino - not to the places, which many other memoirs do, but to the lessons, which, to me, are more important. I may not agree with everything she says but (at least so far), enough of it resonates and revives that it seems quite worth reading.
I can't argue with your experience of the book. You experienced what you experienced and clearly it was unpleasant. So unpleasant, it seems, that it created nausea and resentment and ensured that you were unable to remember the name of the author correctly.After reading this I picked it up again to try and see what I was missing, since other people clearly take a lot from this book.
I am afraid that it did no good. I read a few random sections with growing nausea and resentment. When I got to the line "The disappointments of the Camino showed up in myriad ways" that was enough.
To each their own but if I see Sister Jupp coming along the Camino I will hide.
Ok nausea was maybe a bit strong and the misspelling was certainly not intentional as the book was in front of me as I typed.I can't argue with your experience of the book. You experienced what you experienced and clearly it was unpleasant. So unpleasant, it seems, that it created nausea and resentment and ensured that you were unable to remember the name of the author correctly.
I can only say that my experience has been different. Certainly she did not experience her Camino as unending joy, always well within her comfort zone. This is unabashedly a book of life lessons, and we seldom learn life lessons while ensconced in our comfort zone. Rupp lets us know how far she has departed from her comfort zone and then what she learned from the experience.
To take the chapter "Deal with Disappointments" that you quoted from. You came to the line "The disappointments of the Camino showed up in myriad ways" and that was enough. Had you gone on to read further, you would have read "I looked at the disappointments Tom and I experienced, including the smaller ones, and saw how they were largely due to what we imagined or hoped would be. ... If I expect every day to be harmonious and trouble free, I will be disheartened and discouraged. If I think I can plan and arrange my day so well that nothing will enter in except what I want to have there, I will be frustrated and full of irritation. When I recognize disappointments and accept them for what they are - experiences where my expectations are not met - then I can approach them in a much calmer and more growthful manner."
I think that this aligns with what a lot of us have experienced on and learned from the Camino. There's a reason that so many people in these forums will advise leaving expectations behind when setting out on Camino, or warn people that "the Camino will give you what you need, not what you want", advice that it is easier to give than to practice. It is hard not to fall back into forming expectations and being disappointed when they don't materialize.
I realize that your quote above was just one of many quotes you could pull from the book that would read like the Camino was a terrible experience. Rupp was well out of her comfort zone, after all, and she did frequently find that difficult, despite approaching the undertaking as an adventure. Most honest accounts of Caminos (especially first Caminos) will talk a fair bit about pains and challenges. The Camino may be many things, but it generally is not easy.
But one could equally well pull out countless quotes of the opposite variety. As you wanted to stop reading with the line "The disappointments of the Camino showed up in myriad ways", I wanted to keep reading when I came across the line "Kindness came in many forms and sizes on the Camino." Or "Coming down every hill, turning every corner on the Camino, there is always something new and lovely to bless the eye and heart." Or "From the very beginning of our pilgrimage women and men entered our lives and became dear to us. Even though our time together was relatively brief, the experiences and commonalities we exchanged nourished the gift of friendship." The book has both positive and negative experiences. As on the Camino, most often they are mixed together.
By writing the above, I am not trying to invalidate your experience. The effect the book had on you was what it was. I guess every book is a conversation between the author and the reader. The author will put words on the page, but in reading them the reader will bring their own experiences, and some parts of the book may speak to or affect one reader deeply and pass another reader right by. My experiences reading the book have been very different than yours.
She starts by stating her intention to avoid negative thinking and follows immediately with a list of pilgrims characterized by what she considers negative about them!Tom and I have had a talk about negative thinking. We want to send only positive thoughts, to eliminate negative thinking from our minds. NOW is the time to do this. We start with the chattering French group, to send kindness and not inner barbs toward them when their endless talking takes over the spirit of the refugios. Then, with others, like the robust Austrian who seems so full of ego. He's walked the Camino before, plus many other trails in Spain. Seems to be doing it for sport only. Then there's the young Dutch woman in her twenties who bats her eyelashes and flirts with male pilgrims, the reserved Englishman who says little and rarely enters into conversation, the Canadian who is warm and friendly one time, distant and aloof the next, and the South African gentleman who is always talkative but seems not to listen to others at all.
I wonder what she would have made of the French Group on the Primitivo when I did it, who carried a large bag of grass and were happily stoned by the way whenever I saw them during the day.To be fair, I can also see what causes exasperation in some readers. I've posted above about what I like in this book. This post will address one of the things I find irritating. The author often cannot seem to leave off being judgemental, even as she is discussing the importance of being non-judgemental.
As an example, at one point she quotes from her journal:
She starts by stating her intention to avoid negative thinking and follows immediately with a list of pilgrims characterized by what she considers negative about them!
Imagine how different the paragraph might have been if she had started the same way with an intention to eliminate negative thinking but then instead of wallowing in it, she had gone on to say "We thought about our fellow pilgrims who had been irritating us and for each thought of some way they had benefited us, what they had to offer. We started with the French group who [insert something good]. ..."
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