Australian Hiker

The Way, My Way Book

People often say you should read the book before watching the film. The problem is, often you hear people say that the book spoiled the movie or that the movie wasn’t as good as the book! Once again I’ve done it my way (no pun intended) by watching the movie and then reading the book. I can’t say what you should do but I can say that I enjoyed different things by watching The Way, My Way movie and then reading the book.

The Way, My Way book by Bill Bennett, an Australian author and filmmaker/producer, was first published in 2014. I read the 2024 10th Anniversary Edition updated and published to coincide with the 2024 release of the movie by the same name.

The story is about the author’s journey on the Camino de Santiago or The Way of St James is around 760 km long and is one of those bucket list journeys hikers talk about. The route has medieval origins but later became a journey undertaken by Catholic pilgrims. Today, the Camino de Santiago is undertaken by many thousands of ‘pilgrims’ with over 440,000 making the journey in 2023.

This book covers Bill’s journey from Mudgee in NSW, to the Camino Frances starting at St Jean Pied de Port through to the end of his Camino journey at Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela all guided by his Personal Guidance System (PGS) i.e. his intuition.

The author’s style is humorous and self-deprecating. However, there is lots learned along the way and the book provides opportunity for deeper reflection and for Bill, change – something he struggles with. This is a key theme in the book which he tries to explore by asking everyone else ‘Why are you walking the Camino.’

There are some great and insightful comments in this book such as:

‘…I do admit I might have had some personality traits that might have needed a little…
what’s the word I’m looking for here?…adjustment?’

‘Here the Camino was giving me a very clear choice –
take on new and different ideas, or you won’t finish your pilgrimage.’

‘Nothing would stop me now.
They’d have to carry me off the Maesta in an ambulance….Ooooops.’

The Maesta ‘…had laid me bare.’

Bill’s wife, actor Jennifer Cluff, shares this gem in the book:

‘I had endured months of Camino babble.’

This resonated with me and I fully empathise having lived through many months of Tim planning his next multi-week adventure!

The descriptions of Bill’s injuries, particularly the blisters, are both graphic and very funny. As is the description of Bill’s attempts to take a photo of a ‘perfect’ snail along the way.

The 10th Anniversary Edition includes a ‘Looking Back’ section at the end of each chapter, an addition to original book, which is a combination of 10-year reflections, comments and elaboration. However, I read the original chapters, skipping over the ‘Looking Back’ pages. I then retraced my steps to read the ‘Looking Back’ pieces which worked well – I was glad I did this because I think the ‘Looking Back’ pages would have interfered with the flow of the original chapters. This is entirely up to you to decide but I wanted to get a sense of the ‘original’ words before getting the 10-year reflections.

For those planning to walk the Camino, the book is not intended to be a trail guide. However, you’ll get a good sense of what you may see and some things to watch out for (good and bad), as well as some planning and logistics snippets that you probably won’t find elsewhere.

This book is an easy, funny and enjoyable read woven with some deep reflections and insights – just what you need for those lazy Sunday afternoons.

So, was Bill able to answer the elusive question of why he was walking the Camino? Well, you’ll need to read the book to find out!

Chapters

Contents

• Just to Explain
•  Introduction
• Jennifer’s Foreword
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 1 – Looking Back
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 2 – Looking Back
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 3 – Looking Back
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 4 – Looking Back
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 5 – Looking Back
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 6 – Looking Back
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 7 – Looking Back
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 8 – Looking Back
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 9 – Looking Back
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 10 – Looking Back
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 11 – Looking Back
• Chapter 12
• Chapter 12 – Looking Back
• Chapter 13
• Chapter 13 – Looking Back
• Chapter 14
• Chapter 14 – Looking Back
• Chapter 15
• Chapter 15 – Looking Back
• Chapter 16
• Chapter 16 – Looking Back
• Chapter 17
• Chapter 17 – Looking Back
• Chapter 18
• Chapter 18 – Looking Back
• Chapter 19
• Chapter 19 – Looking Back
• Chapter 20
• Chapter 20 – Looking Back
• Chapter 21
• Chapter 21 – Looking Back
• Chapter 22
• Chapter 22 – Looking Back
• Chapter 23
• Chapter 23 – Looking Back
• Chapter 24
• Chapter 24 – Looking Back
• Looking Back

We Like

• The engaging writing style
• Bill’s description of the random things that pop into his head as he walks
• The characters he encounters along the way
• The insights to what the journey may hold which may assist others get the most out of their experience
• The black and white images separating the chapters

We Don't Like

• Absolutely nothing!

Buy One

You can purchase The Way, My Way Book from Amazon Australia

Disclosure:  We may earn a small commission, at no additional expense to you, if you click through and make a purchase. Please note that our affiliations do not influence, in any way, the independence of our reviews. If we don’t like a product, you’ll hear about it from us!

Investment

AUD $34.95 RRP, can be found on sale

The Way, My Way book cover

The snail

Camino Trail marker

Breakfast including Baguettes and Pastries

Disclaimer

This review was done with product purchased by Australian Hiker

Last updated

14 December 2024

Shares

Related articles