The Parallel Path

Whatever Jenn Ashworth turns her hand to, I'm there to read it'

BENJAMIN MYERS, author of The Offing

'With honesty, humour and determination, Ashworth's journey takes the reader from coast to coast in search of freedom'

JESSICA ANDREWS, author of Milk Teeth

'A miracle of a book . . . One of our finest human nature writers'

RICHARD BEARD, author of Sad Little Men

'Stunning - and stunningly intelligent'

JULIE MYERSON, author of Nonfiction

Burnt out and longing for an escape, Jenn Ashworth emerged from lockdown with a compulsive need to walk - and to walk away. Armed with little more than the knowledge imparted by a two-day orienteering course and a set of maps, she embarked on the most epic of English walks: Wainwright's Coast to Coast.

Guided not just by Wainwright's writing but also by daily letters from her friend Clive - facing an epic journey of his own - Jenn's pilgrimage soon becomes a chance to re-engage with the act of caring for others and for oneself.

But the walk's tricky terrain is not the only thing standing in Jenn's way. As days go by, her balance begins to fail her and the act of putting one foot in front the other becomes a new exercise in caution. When a vicious heatwave forces her to pause her expedition and gives her an opportunity to investigate the new limitations of her body, Jenn is confronted with a life-altering diagnosis - and a new path of self-discovery.