Blanket of Stars: Thru-Hiking the Camino de Santiago

Travel Adventures, Volume 1

By: C.W. Lockhart

Narrated by: C.W. Lockhart

Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

An unlikely pilgrim battles agoraphobia to reclaim life beyond the sofa. The 800-kilometer journey along the Camino Frances provides a scenic backdrop to ponder midlife crisis and chronic illness, an empty nest and marital discord, military service and post-traumatic stress, rage and grief, heartbreak and fear - and the way forward.

El Camino de Santiago, known fondly as "The Way", is a matrix of trails with starting points across Europe leading to the sacred relics of Saint James the Apostle in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Often considered a Catholic pilgrimage, this ancient route predates Christianity. The Way continues to evolve, attracting spiritual seekers with and without religion, thru-hikers, fitness junkies, history buffs, and the curious.

Armed with humor, grit, and a backpack named Little Agnus, Lockhart tackles emotional and physical obstacles, shares adventures with pilgrims from all over the world, mothers traveling teens, endures blisters and bicycle seats, and embraces the glory of Mother Nature and the intrinsic spirituality of peregrination. She finds herself transcending from a human being on a spiritual quest to a spiritual being on a human quest.

©2018 C.W. Lockhart (P)2018 C.W. Lockhart

Blanket of stars review

Overall I enjoyed the story.
Some of the writer's traumatic experiences (from her past which she was dealing with during her Pilgrimage) touched me deeply as I am sure many woman, at some stage in their life, are confronted with some sort of sexual violence or assault - most of which never get addressed or resolved - woman just deal with it. Sad but true.

I enjoyed the fact that the writer was not reserved with (in detail) elaborating on her interactions with some of her pilgrim companions. In most books I mostly seen positive and enlightening interactions between pilgrims- I therefore think that this was a much more realistic telling, even if some interactions were quite shocking or even repulsive.

I did find that the Narration was at times very monotone and it seemed as if there was often changes in the microphone from one chapter to another which made some sections of the book sound soft or muffled and others as if talking in a tin. The sound quality is not constant throughout the whole book but it was not so bad that I could not bear it, I got used to it.

Highly recommend

I'm a little addicted to Camino books, and this is one of the best I've read (heard). It's very well written and authentic. The author shows courage and determination as she battles her own personal demons. Her journey 'rang true'. You will feel like you're right beside her, rooting her on. There was never a dull moment, a well crafted story. I looked forward to my morning walks (when I listen to audibles) and was sorry when this one was done.

The quality of the audible sounded professional to me.

Walk to find your true north

I loved this book. Couldn’t stop reading. The author is candid and raw and gives perspective to life at a time that is just right for my own personal journey. Thank you for sharing your story.

Nice account

Interesting account of an individual journey. Narrator is good but mispronounces “cacophony” and “labyrinth” multiple times

Loved every minute!

This memoir from the Camino is excellent. I'm sure I will relisten to it again. The author captured both her experience and the fellow pilgrims with color, heart and honesty.

the best Camino book yet!

I loved this book! My 3rd book about it and this one really touched my 💜❤️❤️❤️

With Spirit, but not dogma.

The author reads this herself, don’t give up on her. In the beginning she is monotone and breathes in all the wrong places, but much like walking the Camino, she soon hits her stride. Her voice becomes more inflective and warm and she even does different voices and accents fairly well. I appreciated her willingness to share her anxiety and growth, although she showed At least three people much more grace than I wanted her to. Peace and blessings.

Interesting and touching

Would have liked a little more about the Camino but throughly enjoyed this book even found the mispronounced words kind of charming

A true journey.

Thank you for sharing such a deep, vulnerable, funny and real account of not only your time on the camino, but also how your life intertwined into the story. I really enjoyed the structure and pace of it. I gave it 5 stars all around, because it kept me engaged and interested in each part of the journey.

I think this would be a good read/listen for anyone interested in a real account of the Camino, and anyone on the cusp of personal enlightenment or self-assessment.

Felt as if I were there

Great story, the thoughts expressed in the book were as if I was right next to the author as she walked.