Neon Pilgrim - Softcover
Synopsis
Seriously unfit and unmotivated, Lisa Dempster is an unlikely candidate for a gruelling outdoor adventure. But when her life needs a shake-up, she decides the only thing for it is to hike the henro michi, a 1200 kilometre Buddhist pilgrimage through the mountains of Japan. Lisa plunges into life on the road, getting well off the beaten track and experiencing the highs and devastating lows of solo long-distance hiking. Along the way she sleeps in a public toilet, befriends a motley crew of wandering ascetics, falls in lust with a monk and tries her darndest to avoid the local wildlife. As the kilometres tick excruciatingly by, she realises that to finish the pilgrimage it's more than just physical hardship that she'll need to overcome... Lisa's journey from overweight dole bludger to intrepid explorer is a witty and fascinating insight into Japan's famed 88 Temple Pilgrimage.
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About the Author
Lisa Dempster is a young writer based in Melbourne, Australia. Her titles include Veg*n Shopper: an essential pocket reference and The Melbourne Veg Food Guide. Her work has appeared in collections such as Herding Kites, Lines of Wisdom and The Bike Bible. She is the publisher at Vignette Press and creator of indie magazine The Mook.
Review
Spiritual pilgrimages are far easier to read about than to undertake especially in a place like Japan. Neon Pilgrim is a rollercoaster account of an Australian woman s 1200km trek around the island of Shikoku, the famed 88 Temple Pilgrimage performed in honour of the ninth-century monk who brought Buddhism to Japan. Depressed, unemployed and overweight, 28-year-old Lisa Dempster undertook the epic walk to cure her body and mind . But the anticipation the adventure soon gave way to its realities desperate loneliness, painful blisters, oppressive heat and day-after-day of agonising walking. Nowadays, most people perform the pilgrimage by car, but she chose to do it on foot, carrying only a walking stick and the bare minimum of supplies. And unlike most modern pilgrims who stay in hotels, she threw herself on the kindness of strangers for food, shelter and support. The Japanese responses to this strange gaijin walker are almost as enlightening as her own. The result is a chatty, uplifting armchair travel narrative for readers of backpack-lit, Buddhism-lite and Japanalia. In passing encounters with pilgrimage first-timers and veterans, surfers, bikies, monks, elderly travellers and students, Dempster learns the old lesson it s not the destination but the journey that counts. --Lachlan Jobbins, Australian Bookseller & Publisher (October 2009, Vol 90)
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- Publisheraduki independen press
- Publication date2009
- ISBN 10 0980335175
- ISBN 13 9780980335170
- BindingPaperback
- LanguageEnglish
- Edition number1
- Number of pages244
- Rating
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