I'm Off Then by Hape Kerkeling

I'm Off Then

Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino De Santiago

Hape Kerkeling

Free Press · Print & ebook · June 16, 2009

“Written with a gentle, wry humor that recalls Bill Bryson,” (The New York Times), this international bestseller about a modern pilgrimage by one of Germany’s most popular comedic entertainers has struck a nerve.

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Who it’s for
A wry pilgrimage memoir finds room for physical struggle, spiritual searching, and hard-won self-forgiveness.
Themes
Camino pilgrimage, Self-forgiveness, Finding meaning
Pacing
Reflective

About this book

“Written with a gentle, wry humor that recalls Bill Bryson,” (The New York Times), this international bestseller about a modern pilgrimage by one of Germany’s most popular comedic entertainers has struck a nerve. Overweight, overworked, and physically unfit, Kerkeling was an unlikely candidate to make the arduous hike across the French Alps to the Spanish Shrine of St. James, a 1,200-year-old journey undertaken by nearly 100,000 Christians every year.

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But that didn’t stop him from getting off the couch and walking. Along the way, lonely and searching for meaning, he began the journal that turned into this utterly frank, engaging book. Simply by struggling with his physical limitations and the rigors of long-distance walking, he discovered a deep sense of peace that transformed his life and allowed him to forgive himself, and others, more readily. He learned something every day, and he took to finishing each entry with his daily lessons. Filled with quirky fellow pilgrims, historic landscapes, and Kerkeling’s self-deprecating sense of humor, I’m Off Then is an inspiring travelogue, a publishing phenomenon, and a spiritual journey unlike any other.

The Road Within

A wry pilgrimage memoir finds room for physical struggle, spiritual searching, and hard-won self-forgiveness.

Come here for

  • Self-deprecating humor alongside the rigors of long-distance walking
  • Daily lessons from a search for meaning

Expect

  • An intimate journal shaped by physical limits and spiritual reflection
  • A gradual turn toward peace and forgiveness

Where it sits

Hiking & Walking40%
Pilgrims & Pilgrimages35%
Personal Memoirs33%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Spain & Portugal Travel
  • Travel Writing
  • Hiking & Walking
Authors
Hape Kerkeling
Publisher
Free Press
Published
June 16, 2009
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Camino pilgrimage · Self-forgiveness · Finding meaning
Reading lane
Spain & Portugal Travel