Whether read as a travelogue, history or personal spiritual quest, A PILGRIMAGE TO ETERNITY will enlighten and entertain its audience.

Timothy Egan’s journey along the Via Francigena, the ancient pilgrim route from Canterbury to Rome, takes us across several countries and multiple centuries, all the while engaging us in a debate about God’s existence and purpose --- and quoting liberally from St. Augustine, Diderot, Oscar Wilde and many others.  The wealth of information and insight on every waypoint’s particular history, local saints and current condition is impressive without being overwhelming. Egan also writes about his family and explains his own, very personal reasons for undertaking this 1,200-mile pilgrimage.

"Whether read as a travelogue, history or personal spiritual quest, A PILGRIMAGE TO ETERNITY will enlighten and entertain its audience."

Starting in Canterbury at the chapel where Queen Bertha introduced Christianity to pagan Britain, Egan makes his way along the major medieval trail that led the devout --- at one point, two million a year --- to Rome. As he travels through France, Switzerland and Italy, he shares details about the monasteries, cathedrals, shrines, sites of miracles and various relics he encounters, as well as the histories of many important figures in the church who lived and died in the surrounding area.

Egan's pilgrimage ends at St. Peter's Square, where he hopes to arrange an interview with Pope Francis. These attempts to land a private meeting add to the narrative drama, as do his efforts to keep going in the face of injury, dangerous weather conditions and sometimes his own despair.

During his voyage --- which is conducted on foot and by car, train and bus --- Egan is joined at various stops by his children, wife, local hosts and other pilgrims, which gives readers a chance to see the locales (and locals) from different perspectives. As not all the fellow travelers are as intent on spiritual rejuvenation, it also broadens the lens through which we view the passing scenery. But there’s no mistaking this for a Lonely Planet tour of European hotspots: Egan’s focus is squarely on Christianity, both historically and personally. And when read as such, this journey is both mesmerizing and uplifting.