Walking Back to Happiness: Rebuilding a Marriage, One Step at a Time: Finding Ourselves in France

Penelope Swithinbank

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1912863251 ISBN 13: 9781912863259

Publisher: Sarah Grace Publishing, 2019

Two vicars, their marriage in tatters with wounds reaching far back into the past, set out on a journey to find healing and restoration. Their route will take them from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, but will it help them find their way home? Along the 320-mile route across rural France, burdened by backpacks and blisters, Kim and Penelope stumble across fresh truths, some ordinary, others extraordinary. But will they be defeated by the road ahead or triumph over the pain of the past? Is there a chance they'll find themselves in France and walk back to happiness? In this simple but enchanting book, part travelogue and part pilgrimage, Penelope invites you to walk with her and her husband on their epic journey as they encounter new faces and new experiences, and reconnect with each other and with God. Every step of the way, you'll discover more about yourself and what's really important to you.

Review:

More than a tale of a bucket-list adventure, this is a return-to-love story of a marriage grown cold. Walking miles across France, our protagonists inch closer towards each other. With colour and grit, Walking Back to Happiness shows what can be regained in a relationship when we commit to walking a new path side-by-side. --Sheridan Voysey, writer/speaker/broadcaster, author of The Making of Us: Who We Can Become When Life Doesn't Go as Planned

Crossing France from coast to coast on foot, Penelope becomes reacquainted with the husband she fell in love with and makes peace with the pain and trauma of the previous years. This is a travelogue in the best tradition, full of evocative descriptions of landscape, architecture and locals, as well as vivid accounts of epic gastronomic experiences that will make your mouth water. The reflections on marriage, forgiveness and the spirituality of suffering are deeply moving, as is the sheer determination and courage it takes for the couple to pull on their boots and keep going each morning. You will be uplifted, cheered and inspired by this book. And maybe even tempted to go for a longer-than-usual walk... --Jo Swinney, author of Home: The Quest to Belong

Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, famously said that walking is man's best medicine. I doubt you'll ever see this more graphically confirmed than in Walking Back to Happiness - a tale of four sore feet, two frail hearts, and one life-changing walk. As you read, you'll find yourself journeying with Penelope and Kim across France. By the time you sit with them on the seashore at the end, the sea fret of the Atlantic Ocean on your face, maybe you too will taste the medicine they received. --Mark Stibbe, author of Home at Last and King of Hearts

About the Author:

Penelope Swithinbank is a chaplain at Bath Abbey and a spiritual therapist and counsellor for clergy. Since becoming a vicar nearly 20 years ago, she has worked in churches in the UK and the USA, and has led pilgrimages in the UK and in Europe. She and her husband Kim have been married for more than 40 years and have three children and six grandchildren.