The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Rating

6/10 Not great, not terrible. A little worn out story that goes on for a little too long. But it’s not a bad book, and if nothing, it makes you ponder what you would like to achieve during your productive years so you don’t end up like Harold - craving adventure in your retirement and hating yourself for not living the life you wanted.

Synopsis

Harold gets an unexpected letter from his long-forgotten friend Queenie Hennessy. She has cancer and sends him a goodbye letter. Shocked, Harold scribbles down his own form of a goodbye and goes on to send it to the nearest postbox. The short walk however turns into an 83 day journey to visit Queenie on the opposite side of England to say the final goodbye in person. On the way, Harold ponders his life’s mistakes and experiences a transformative journey, both physically and mentally. He seems to finally recount all that he has been struggling with during his adult life and the walk for Queenie turns out to be even more important to Harold himself.

Notes

• although not as thrilling as some other books I read lately, it gets one thinking about the meaning of it all and how one should live their life to not end up like Harold - old and full of regrets
• reflect often on your behaviors and act on the potential improvements to not regret a lack of action later in life