The Only Way is Up – on foot to rome
by Jennifer Andrewes
While reading this book, it’s almost certain you’ll consider doing something along the lines of what Jennifer Andrewes has done. Maybe not on the same route or roads – Te Araroa perhaps?
In a previous book, A Will and a Way – on foot across France, [See FlaxFlower review May 2025] Jennifer describes, day-to-day, her treks along two Camino trails in France and Spain. This time she sets out on a mind-daunting 99-day 2417 km journey, following the pilgrim path from Canterbury in England to Rome – a feat made all the more daunting as she has Parkinson’s.
Her medical problem is not skirted in the book, though neither is it a major theme. She refers to it as part of her reason – “Pilgrimage, like Parkinson’s, is lived through the body – through the fine mechanics of movement, rhythm, balance and breath. Where Parkinson’s interrupts motion, pilgrimage restores it.” [p.98] “Pilgrimage doesn’t cure Parkinson’s; it changes my relationships with it. Medicine treats symptoms, pilgrimage trains response. It keeps me flexible – mentally, physically, spiritually.”
Jennifer’s is an individual response – though she is following a long-established pilgrim path, her journey is not undertaken for a religious reason.
At times I wondered on the way through how she could walk when she mentions the frequent meal stops and the food consumed, but I suppose the countless baguettes, croissants, rolls, cheeses, eggs, tarts, pastas, pizzas and pastries, as well as coffee, beer, sodas and juice, from the boulangeries and cafes visited each day – and that’s just before dinner – provide what fuels the walk.
More interesting are the comments on people met along the way – other walkers making their on-foot journeys for a variety of reasons at their own pace, as well as local hostel owners, pilgrim trail volunteers – almost invariably kind and generous. Glimpses of history come as the trail includes centuries-old churches and cathedrals, fields of war, castles, a route taken by Napoleon, Roman footpaths. “That sense of continuity always hits me; walking these roads you feel connected to countless footsteps that came before.” [p. 221]
Many coloured photos of roads, paths, signs stopping places, are included – not the often-repeated tourist spots and all meaningful to the author. A glossary would have been helpful.
Read this book to be inspired to leave your comfort zone and do something similar, or just to travel along vicariously – you’ll cheer Jennifer Andrewes along on every step of her 2417 kilometre walk.
by Jennifer Andrewes
While reading this book, it’s almost certain you’ll consider doing something along the lines of what Jennifer Andrewes has done. Maybe not on the same route or roads – Te Araroa perhaps?
In a previous book, A Will and a Way – on foot across France, [See FlaxFlower review May 2025] Jennifer describes, day-to-day, her treks along two Camino trails in France and Spain. This time she sets out on a mind-daunting 99-day 2417 km journey, following the pilgrim path from Canterbury in England to Rome – a feat made all the more daunting as she has Parkinson’s.
Her medical problem is not skirted in the book, though neither is it a major theme. She refers to it as part of her reason – “Pilgrimage, like Parkinson’s, is lived through the body – through the fine mechanics of movement, rhythm, balance and breath. Where Parkinson’s interrupts motion, pilgrimage restores it.” [p.98] “Pilgrimage doesn’t cure Parkinson’s; it changes my relationships with it. Medicine treats symptoms, pilgrimage trains response. It keeps me flexible – mentally, physically, spiritually.”
Jennifer’s is an individual response – though she is following a long-established pilgrim path, her journey is not undertaken for a religious reason.
At times I wondered on the way through how she could walk when she mentions the frequent meal stops and the food consumed, but I suppose the countless baguettes, croissants, rolls, cheeses, eggs, tarts, pastas, pizzas and pastries, as well as coffee, beer, sodas and juice, from the boulangeries and cafes visited each day – and that’s just before dinner – provide what fuels the walk.
More interesting are the comments on people met along the way – other walkers making their on-foot journeys for a variety of reasons at their own pace, as well as local hostel owners, pilgrim trail volunteers – almost invariably kind and generous. Glimpses of history come as the trail includes centuries-old churches and cathedrals, fields of war, castles, a route taken by Napoleon, Roman footpaths. “That sense of continuity always hits me; walking these roads you feel connected to countless footsteps that came before.” [p. 221]
Many coloured photos of roads, paths, signs stopping places, are included – not the often-repeated tourist spots and all meaningful to the author. A glossary would have been helpful.
Read this book to be inspired to leave your comfort zone and do something similar, or just to travel along vicariously – you’ll cheer Jennifer Andrewes along on every step of her 2417 kilometre walk.
Review by Meg M
Title: The Only Way is Up – on foot to rome
Author: Jennifer Andrewes
Publisher: Parallel Lives
ISBN: 9780473772871
RRP: $34.95
Available: bookshops
Author: Jennifer Andrewes
Publisher: Parallel Lives
ISBN: 9780473772871
RRP: $34.95
Available: bookshops
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