What’s it like to take two months away from day-to-day life to trek the length of Spain while dealing with language barriers, crippling heat and injuries, and a spouse with motivations entirely different from your own?Leaving busy city lives behind, pastoral carer Cici Edwards-Jensen and corporate consultant Mike Jensen embark on the Via de la Plata in a quest for insights and adventure – and soon discover that walking the Camino is a very different experience from everything they’ve seen in the books and films that inspired them.This unflinchingly honest account of their journey exposes their unique frailties but also their universal quest: the search for meaning.Happiness Is That Way is for walkers, adventurers and dreamers curious about a life-changing pilgrimage.
Cici
Cici lives in a bayside suburb of Melbourne with her husband, Mike, and two kelpies. She has consciously followed a spiritual journey for the past 20 years. Her work has followed her passion which has led her on a path of self-enquiry. Cici founded a charity foundation where she served in a voluntary capacity as a director for 13 years providing support for people living with cancer and their families. She has run her own business for many years and been employed in hospital, community and clinical settings primarily in palliative care. Initially as an oncology massage therapist, a project officer in cancer services and health promotion co-ordinator, and then, as a pastoral carer/interfaith minister embracing diversity, equality and inclusion. More recently, she has been working as a bereavement counsellor and group facilitator. The decision to walk a spiritual pilgrimage was her next step in continuing to live a passionate life.
Mike
Starting his career as a banking lawyer, Mike left the legal profession to build a business in workplace investigations and dispute resolution before burning out and retreating to the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria with his wife and two dogs to take stock. In midlife, he began to make choices about who he wanted to be and what he wanted to do – the opportunity to do the Camino came along, and deepened his search for meaningful work and adventure. He now has a renewed focus where he works with workplaces to maintain mental health and create healthy cultures.
Cici
Cici lives in a bayside suburb of Melbourne with her husband, Mike, and two kelpies. She has consciously followed a spiritual journey for the past 20 years. Her work has followed her passion which has led her on a path of self-enquiry. Cici founded a charity foundation where she served in a voluntary capacity as a director for 13 years providing support for people living with cancer and their families. She has run her own business for many years and been employed in hospital, community and clinical settings primarily in palliative care. Initially as an oncology massage therapist, a project officer in cancer services and health promotion co-ordinator, and then, as a pastoral carer/interfaith minister embracing diversity, equality and inclusion. More recently, she has been working as a bereavement counsellor and group facilitator. The decision to walk a spiritual pilgrimage was her next step in continuing to live a passionate life.
Mike
Starting his career as a banking lawyer, Mike left the legal profession to build a business in workplace investigations and dispute resolution before burning out and retreating to the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria with his wife and two dogs to take stock. In midlife, he began to make choices about who he wanted to be and what he wanted to do – the opportunity to do the Camino came along, and deepened his search for meaningful work and adventure. He now has a renewed focus where he works with workplaces to maintain mental health and create healthy cultures.
Customer
Reviews
8 reviews
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I loved this book! It's one of those books that fall into your lap at that right moment you are meant to read it. I felt myself right there with Cici and Mike at the Camino. such is their descriptive and down-to-earth, personable style that bares their souls. Their writing style is such that you feel easily connected with them and the places they visited, about the connections and reunions with peregrinos that transformed into deep friendships, the tender and kind encounters with the locals, the hardships and joys and inner reflections each had: personal and poetic and beautifully written that warmed my heart. Cici writes with an honesty, spirituality and tenderness that touches you; Mike writes with honesty, vulnerability, dotted with some dry humour along the way. The way the authors found meaning in simple things, events, conversations and observations, made this book very special, authentic and reflective for the reader; you're taken on a journey that is a spiritual one for Cic, and, eventually for Mike too. Happiness is 'that' way and that way is - in the heart. ♡
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I loved this book! It's one of those books that fall into your lap at that right moment you are meant to read it. I felt myself right there with Cici and Mike at the Camino. such is their descriptive and down-to-earth, personable style that bares their souls. Their writing style is such that you feel easily connected with them and the places they visited, about the connections and reunions with peregrinos that transformed into deep friendships, about Spanish culture, the tender and kind encounters with the locals, the hardships and joys and inner reflections each had: personal and poetic and beautifully written that warmed my heart. Cici writes with an honesty, spirituality and tenderness that touches you; Mike writes with honesty, vulnerability, dotted with some dry humour along the way. The way the authors found meaning in simple things, events, conversations and observations, made this book very special, authentic and reflective for the reader; you're taken on a journey that is a spiritual one for Cic, and, eventually for Mike too. Happiness is 'that' way and that way is - in the heart. ♡♡
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I just finished the book and wanted to thank the authors for sharing so many personal moments. It is so well written and easy to read. It is a real page-turner and a testament to their commitment to following their dreams in life. Inspiring in the least
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With raw honesty, Cici and Mike share their tears of joy and frustration, their highs and lows, in their search for a personal spiritual journey. Each chapter gave no hint of what might be around the next bend, leaving the reader wanting more and finding it hard to put the book down. I laughed and cried at the determination of the human spirit, at the love and generosity encountered in often the simplest of ways, leaving me deeply moved. The delightful graphic descriptions of the changing scenery and climate, along with the physical and emotional portrayals, made me feel like I was walking the journey with them. Delightful and uplifting.”
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A great read.
Inspiring and heartwarming.
Thoughtful, reflective, and keeping it real.
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I felt like I was with you both. I could feel the range of emotions you went through. That’s what I liked!
It was the journey…..that’s what a journey is…. It’s personal.
I felt like I was walking as well. I was tired, rested, peaceful, anxious, desperate, elated, alone and together.
Your journey to know yourselves more became my journey as I read your book. To me; that’s the essence of a great book.
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Thank you, Cici and Mike for sharing such deep insights of your journey! I felt your pain, I understood your doubts, I celebrated the many moments of joy and relished the camaraderie of your fellow 'peregrines'. I feel blessed to have done this 'virtual Camino' with you - walking across every page of this wonderful tale. A highly recommended read.
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What a great read! I felt I’d walked the Camino myself after reading Cici and Mike’s inspirational account! I particularly enjoyed the way they both wrote their own accounts of the journey. It was fascinating to see the journey from two different points of view. I did a lot of travelling myself many, many years ago and this book took me back to those memorable times. I wish Cici and Mike all the very best for their next adventure - wherever that may be! And I very much look forward to reading all about it in the next account of their travels!
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