A buzzing in the ears.
A loss of hearing.
Uncertainty grins.
"We'll have to await the results of the biopsy...but I'm afraid it's a type of blood cancer:'
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At age 23, beginning the journey of adult life, Gonzalo is struck by a stage 4 cancer diagnosis. With the support of family, friends, and a network of care that emerges, a chain of events reveals the depths of being human and the polarities that come with illness; from the fear of uncertainty and death, to the profound euphoria and connection that come with it.
After the news of remission, the transition back into health is elusive and unclear. In need of a rite of passage, he follows a calling to walk the last 180km of a pilgrimage, the Camino de Santiago, 3 months after finishing treatment. In chapters alternating between the cancer and the pilgrimage, with timelines interweaving and overlapping, characters along the way guide him into what it means to not only return to health, but to live with vitality.
This autobiography highlights the importance of rituals in marking transitions for life's big processes, and the value of community for transforming life's tests into lived wisdom., rituals, cancer, pilgrimage, spirituality, illness, travel, Gonzalo Gil| | 218PAGES