Walking with Sam - Andrew McCarthy

A Father & Son Journey of Spain’s Camino de Santiago

Spain’s Camino de Santiago, an ancient spiritual walking pilgrimage, now trendy, has been the inspiration for many books and movies. I have read or seen many of them. I love Spain. I was already familiar with the new identity actor Andrew McCarthy, of Brat Pack fame, had forged as a travel writer, having read a little of his work. 

This book is a chronicle of McCarthy’s second Camino de Santiago journey, this time with his late-adolescent son, Sam. There are strengths and weaknesses to this book. It takes one to know one, but McCarthy comes across as a real navel gazer. What’s more, his son comes across as at times monosyllabic, somewhat childish and Tik Tok addled – but that seems real.  They did not eat well…and this is Spain. That’s the bad.

What’s good is that McCarthy’s passion for travel shines through. His interest in the storied history of the location is genuine. He’s good at describing it. He’s good at understanding that he’s a “credit card pilgrim,” which is probably a better understanding than the average pilgrim seeker, the kind of seekers looking for points for being the most pious or abstemious. McCarthy keeps trying to create “moments” with the recalcitrant Sam, without realizing that the wisdom he is looking to impart will most likely come to fruition many, many years later.

Such is the journey.