Tom and Jason met over twenty years ago under circumstances that should have severed any chance they would develop any kind of a personal relationship, let alone a close friendship. Yet their paths continued to cross, and over time, the answer to why this happened would be made very clear to both of them and hopefully become a lesson for many others as well. Jason believed in science. He thought scholarship and the human capacity for learning and reason could provide every answer about life and the human condition; however, there was a tiny ember of belief he dismissed many years earlier that always remained... Tom believed in God, to what extent he wasn’t even sure. Jason grew up in a very religious family. Tom hardly went to church at all but believes Jesus is God’s Son and died to make salvation available to all that would receive the gift He offers, but he always struggled with the orthodoxy taught by religion and tradition... Jason became a business owner and the founder and president of the Mid-Michigan Atheist and Humanist Group. Tom became a chaplain and an elder (pastor) after more than twenty-two years of military service. This book is about the unlikely friendship that changed the course of their lives and the worldviews of both Jason and Tom, a story of two people with completely different trajectories for their lives that converge to teach all of us that we don’t have to be of like minds, come from the same backgrounds, or even share the same values to not just get along but to be close friends. This book illustrates the value of thoughtful listening and mutual respect and how, when put into practice, these attributes make it possible to learn something about ourselves, what we believe, and why we believe it. Share this journey with Jason and Tom with an open heart and mind, and chances are, you will discover something about yourself along the way...

Part adventure story, part cultural history, this “enjoyably offbeat travelogue” explores the phenomenon of the spiritual pilgrimage (Booklist). Driven by curiosity, wanderlust, and health crises, David Downie and his wife set out from Paris to walk across France to the Pyrenees. Starting on the Rue Saint-Jacques, then trekking 750 miles south to Roncesvalles, Spain, their eccentric route takes 72 days on Roman roads and pilgrimage paths—a 1,100-year-old network of trails leading to the sanctuary of Saint James the Greater. It is best known as El Camino de Santiago de Compostela—“The Way” for short. The object of any pilgrimage is an inward journey manifested in a long, reflective walk. For Downie, the inward journey met the outer one: a combination of self-discovery and physical regeneration. More than 200,000 pilgrims take the highly commercialized Spanish route annually, but few cross France. Downie had a goal: to go from Paris to the Pyrenees on age-old trails, making the pilgrimage in his own maverick way.

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