What do you like most when reading about adventures: descriptions of the terrain, the culture, the challenges, the personal growth, and the interactions between other adventurers? Women of the Way: Embracing the Camino successfully combines all these elements in a heartfelt and personal recounting of Jane V. Blanchard's 2011 five-hundred-mile pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago—hiking from St-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France over the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles in Spain, and then westward across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela. For over a millennium, Christians have made this pilgrimage to the cathedral in Santiago, where the remains of St. James the Apostle are entombed. Today, this journey is known as a European Cultural Itinerary, attracting people worldwide. In 2011, more than 183,000 people completed the pilgrimage; 44% were women.

Though Women of the Way is about Jane's journey on the Camino de Santiago (also known as "The Way") and the discussions she had with women she met on the pilgrimage, this is not a "chick" book. It is about embracing the Camino, the personal changes, and the beauty and appeal of the most famous pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, the Camino Frances.

• Discover why people from around the world walk the Camino.
• Learn how to prepare for the Camino, about the daily rituals in long-distance walking, and the camaraderie shared among these modern-day pilgrims.
• Visualize the beauty of northern Spain through Jane's vivid descriptions.
• Understand why so many people embrace the Camino.