Book review: In Movement there is Peace by Elaine and Jo Foster

in movemen t there is peace

Elaine and Joe Foster’s account of their pilgrimage on the Camino ‘In Movement There is Peace’ is a thoroughly absorbing read.
This book is not simply an account of their progress along the pilgrim trail but a story that provides a revealing insight into their own lives as well as their personal and spiritual progress as they walked, determinedly and sometimes in great pain, along this 800 kilometre path.
I liked the quotations they provide at the beginning of each chapter – for example, Gene Roddenberry’s statement “If man is to survive, he will have learned to take delight in the essential differences between men and between cultures. He will learn that differences in ideas and cultures are a delight, part of life’s exciting variety and not something to fear”. I also liked the Lesson for the Day with which they end each chapter – one of the best being “a healthy relationship runs on a thermostat constantly adjusting to the changing needs of the other.”
This husband and wife team find peace and understanding as a result of their pilgrimage along the Camino. Not only do they receive assistance on their arduous journey from others (“there are no coincidences along the Camino”) but they themselves provide therapy and help to so many others whom they were destined to meet along the way.
Having myself retired from being a surgeon and military medical officer and then walked 500 miles along the Camino with my son a few years ago, I could well empathise with retired USAF LTCOL Elaine’s situation and her coming to realise that the power to control life, death and those around us is an illusion. I could appreciate her advice of learning to “stay in the moment” and to “believe in things we cannot see or measure”. I could agree with Joe that “a journey can never end if there is no destination; we need both the journey and the destination to find peace”.
Those who have walked the Camino will find that this book will bring back lovely memories of their own Camino – while those who experience anxiety and fear will find the personal tales of Elaine and Joe inspiring.
Highly recommended