Simultaneously a breathtaking account of a physical journey and a memoir about recovering from mental illness.
Longlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize 2019
A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK
'An extraordinary travelogue, strange and brilliant' i
In 2013 Guy Stagg made a journey from Canterbury to Jerusalem. Though a non-believer, he began the pilgrimage after suffering several years of mental illness, hoping the ritual would heal him. For ten months he hiked alone on ancient paths, crossing ten countries and more than 5,500 kilometres. Travelling without support, he had to rely each night on the charity of strangers.
The Crossway is an account of Stagg's extraordinary journey. It describes the dangers he faced on the road, captures the people he met and the landscapes he experienced, offers a unique insight into contemporary faith, and - most movingly - lays bare his struggle to escape the past and walk towards recovery.
'Golden prose illuminates this moving account of a pilgrimage taken for the good of the author's mental health' Observer
'A beguiling portrait of one young man's search into the hidden corners of Europe' Sunday Times
'Completely absorbing, personal, often funny, and full of fascinating encounters - an enlightening book from an exciting new writer' Sarah Bakewell, author of At The Existentialist Café
What a privilege it's been to read this compelling and moving book, to travel with a writer who records everything he sees and feels with such care and passion. The writing is beautiful and his voice so engaging, so unflinchingly honest, throughout. I finished
The Crossway and just wanted the author to keep walking.
