Perhaps what people fear most about retirement is boredom. Day
after day of sameness. And the silence between a couple who, after decades
together, have little to say or who have chosen to paper over past grief and
grievances.
Such was the (fictional) life of Harold Fry – until he gets
a letter from Queenie Hennesey, a former co-worker, who says that she is in
hospice, dying of cancer. He tries to write to Queenie, who lives at the other
end of England, but what do you say? He
tries to call, but she can’t come to the phone. Instead, he starts walking and
soon becomes convinced (by a young woman who microwaves him a burger at a gas
station) that his journey to Queenie will keep her alive. The notion that determination can defeat death is an idea that
captivates everyone he encounters.
But what is most intriguing about “The Unlikely Pilgrimage
of Harold Fry,” by Rachel Joyce, is the transformation and self-discovery that
Harold experiences as he steps out of his decades-long rut -- opening himself
up to people he meets along the way, discovering a natural world he’s never
known, and challenging his body as never before.
Mile after mile on the road, he is consumed by memories that
now appear in a fresh light, reshaped by newfound strengths.
In so many ways, he is starting over. And the starting over
is not a one-time process. As Joyce writes:
“Harold believed his journey was truly beginning. He had
thought it started the moment he decided to walk to Berwick, but he saw now
that he had been naive. Beginnings could happen more than once, or in different
ways. You could think you were starting something afresh, when actually what
you were doing was carrying on as before. He had faced his shortcoming and
overcome them, and so the real business of walking was happening only now.”
For that matter, Harold’s wife – left behind –discovers, to
her surprise, her own resilience. She, too, takes a deep-dive into their shared
history and makes startling discoveries of her own.
It’s a simple tale, with a profound reminder that at any age we can take steps to move in a new direction. That we can walk a path of discovery.
3 comments:
I read the book and enjoyed it as well. Quirky characters, but oddly compelling. I was routing for Harold more and more as he progressed on his journey. A good read.
Just reading your really interesting blog, Dottie. I read this book last year and enjoyed it a lot!
Loved this book and have recommended it on my blog, Clearingthespace.blogspot.com
As I read the book I thought about walking a labyrinth--how there is a time when you think you are close to the center, but then you swing far away and you wonder if you will ever get there. Unlike a maze, the way in is also the way and that becomes true on this journey as well. Thanks for recommending the book.
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