Ruth O’Leary: The Call of the Camino
Last March Ruth O’Leary’s debut novel, The Weekend Break, went straight on to the Irish Times Bestseller list in its first week. The story centred around four friends with four secrets heading on a weekend break to Galway. Having lived in Galway in the 80’s and visited many times since then, Ruth felt she knew the city well enough to set the book there.
When it came to writing her second novel she knew that this time she wanted to write about three strangers of different ages who meet somewhere outside Ireland and have an effect on each other’s lives. But where to set it?
Initially I thought about setting it in a yoga retreat on a Greek Island and I visualised myself sitting in a harbour café with a glass of wine, writing notes in a fancy notebook. But in reality, a yoga retreat could be quite limiting in terms of people coming and going so it didn’t quite fit the story.
Around this time I was searching online for a new pair of trainers. Immediately the algorithms got to work and I started to get ads for all sorts of walking holidays including the Camino. I dismissed the ads as soon as they popped up but the Camino intrigued me.
Walking the Camino de Santiago was not on my list of places to go or things to achieve, but increasingly I kept hearing about people of all ages, walking the different Camino routes and enjoying their experience. And most planned on repeating the trip in the future.
I always viewed the Camino as a pilgrimage and for some it is. After all, it follows the ancient route of St James to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostella. But the more I looked into it; I learned that some people walk it for religious reasons, some as a hiking challenge but the majority walk it for the headspace it offers and as an opportunity to get away from the busyness and noise of our modern lives.
The more I researched the Camino, by watching YouTube videos and joining Facebook groups, the more I realised that this might be the ideal location for the three female characters who were just living in my head at this stage.
My three female characters are at turning points in their lives and need the space to figure out the next step their lives should take to pursue the lives they desire. I tried hard to bring the location back to a Greek island again but it just didn’t work. Also, I knew deep down that if my characters were going to walk part of the Camino de Santiago then I had to do it too.
‘The Call of the Camino’ is a phrase I came across a few times during my research and every time I tried to find a new destination for my characters my mind kept coming back to The Camino. There was only one thing for it, if my characters were going to travel solo and unprepared to Spain to walk 116kilometres from Sarria to Santiago, then I had to walk it too.”
A Week To Remember opens at Gate 302 in Dublin Airport as passengers wait to board a flight to Santiago de Compostella in Northern Spain. Three strangers sit nervously looking around at the well-prepared, excited walkers and they wonder what on earth they are doing there. I felt exactly the same.
Due to time restraints, I only had one week to go on my Camino journey. So having booked flights and accommodation only three weeks in advance and with very little preparation, I too sat in Dublin Airport wondering what on earth I was taking on.
I like walking and I try to walk for one hour early in the morning near the seafront on Dublin’s Northside. But Dublin city is very flat and I had no hill walking experience. So, one week before my trip, I headed to the Decathlon outdoor store and bought walking poles to help with this.
My research showed that walking poles were invaluable walking up and down the hills of Northern Spain and this was so true. They only cost €6 each but they helped me so much. Walking poles offer up to 30 percent support for your ankles, knees and hips. Some of the inclines can be for over an hour and the declines put pressure on your joints so I my walking poles were lifesavers.
I also had no map of my route but I didn’t need it. Just one week before my departure I posted a question on a Camino Facebook page:
‘Am I mad to think I can just arrive with no map and follow the yellow arrows and the people in front of me?’
The tons of answers that came back all said the same thing:
‘Yes! That is all you have to do. Follow the arrows, put one foot in front of the other, and walk.’
And that’s what I did, all the way from Sarria to Santiago walking with my characters in my head. I just put one foot in front of the other and much to my shock and surprise I walked over 100 kilometre from Sarria to Santiago and received my Compostella Certificate when I arrived in Cathedral Square in Santiago. I met amazing people along the way and I am still in touch with some now. Two of the people I met appear in the book. Everywhere I stayed and dined, my characters do too.
I walked my Camino in search of ideas for my characters but I experienced so much more along the ancient path and I know I will return again someday to walk the hills of The Camino de Santiago again.
The result is my new novel A Week To Remember and here is the introduction to my characters:
Paula has an anxiety attack ather 60th birthday party and realises that her life must change. While her friends are settling into retirement, she craves adventure. Then a shock discovery forces her to question everything she thought was sure in her life.
Rachel is about to go into business with her boyfriend Craig when he betrays her in the worst way possible. She is desperate to get away and figure out how to move forward. Can she forgive and forget, in order to have everything she has dreamed of?
Cathy’s world is turned upside down by a life-altering event. Struggling with her feelings, she sets out to follow in the footsteps of her favourite film, The Way, hoping to find the courage to plan a new life free from fear.
As the three women set out on journeys of healing and self-discovery on the ancient path of the Camino de Santiago, fate causes their paths to cross. Will the Camino provide the answers they seek and the strength to pursue the lives they desire?
(c) Ruth O’Leary
Order your copy of A Week to Remember online here.
And see here for Ruth discussing her debut novel, The Weekend Break on Writing.ie.
