THE fascinating story of a Latchford author who embarked on pilgrimage across Europe after experiencing a life-threatening attack will grace bookshop shelves this week.
Duncan McNamara discovered the diary he kept during his days completing the famous religious expedition through Spain – Camino de Santiago – and decided to write up and publish the fascinating journey.
The author, originally from Altrincham, spoke of what initially spurred him on to complete the trek which has been the inspiration for his novel Walk This Way.
“I completed the pilgrimage back in 2014. It was a pre-midlife crisis. I had it in my head that I needed to do it before I was 30,” he said.
“I was on a night out in Altrincham and I was attacked by a group of men.
“I had a hard physical and mental recovery and it made me think, if I get through this then I want to do the Camino.”
Duncan began his voyage in France and walked for four weeks along the Spanish Pyrenees for 500 miles before reaching the shrine of Saint James in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia.
Putting into perspective the gruelling nature of the trek, Duncan said: “My feet, my shoulders, my back were killing me on the first week, but your body does adapt. I was roughly walking a marathon a day.
“There is a section in the middle of the journey where it is just desert and you don’t see anybody, that was hard.”
The 38-year-old found the diary he had kept during the pilgrimage during lockdown and after being furloughed decided to write up and publish it as a memoir, which will be released on Amazon and Waterstones this Thursday, September 7.
Duncan will appear in a book signing on September 16 in Stockton Heath Library at midday.
“I am pretty excited for it to be published,” he added.
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