My book The Day was Made for Walking is now available in Spanish in an e-version.
El Dia Fue Hecho Para Caminar ( Buscando el Significado en el Camino de Santiago) Available at Google Play, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple and Tolino.
Thank you to my translator Julio Lopez.
The death by suicide of Maris, his beloved wife of forty-two years, changed everything for Noel Braun. In his struggle to rediscover himself, he sought structure and meaning in the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, the ancient pilgrimage route to Santiago in the north-west of Spain. In 2010, at the age of seventy-seven, he undertook his first pilgrimage.
He soon found that one Camino was not enough. Noel had to keep seeking. His yearning was like an addiction or a contagion, a virus infection. What drew him back? It could have been the extraordinary scenery of France, Portugal and Spain, the challenge of endurance walking hundreds of kilometers, the call of many languages, the chance to delve into history and deeper meaning of the land he was traversing.
Perhaps it was the call of the Spirit, luring him into the unknown where he had to rely on a strength greater than his own to persevere. Perhaps, it was the camaraderie, the chance to meet many people of different languages and cultures, to hear their stories and to make lifelong friendships.
Noel’s passion did not abate. He had to keep walking. He continued his pilgrimage in 2011, 2013 and 2015. These explorations of the Camino are described in his earlier books The Day was Made for Walking and I Guess I’ll Just Keep on Walking.
Keep Pressing On, Brother is his third book in a series of memoires detailing his Camino pilgrimage. The reader soon discovers there is far more to pilgrimage than simply visiting places. The physical and the spiritual blend with ancient and the modern. What is truly remarkable about Noel’s story told in these memoires is not just the deep spiritual journey at their heart but also the fact that Noel is well into his eighties.
My new book I Guess I’ll Just Keep on Walking is now available. It continues the spiritual and physical journey begun in my earlier book The Day was Made for Walking along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, the ancient pilgrimages routes across Europe to Santiago in north-west Spain.
Here is one review:
“Loved this story, so uplifting and encouraging. Beautifully written. The people he meets and the places he visits are so well described that you can imagine you are accompanying him on his journey. A gem of a book, keep on walking, Noel, your spirit shines through and reaches out to us. An absolute treasure!” -Alison Lewis, author Seasons of Life and Missing.
To order a copy, go to my website http://www.noelbraun.com.au
It’s been nearly three years since my last book The Day was Made for Walking. I’ve been very pleased with its reception. I’ve received many emails from readers thanking me. That book was about my physical and spiritual journeys walking the Camino de Santiago through France and Spain. Since then, I have walked two more Camino routes through France and Portugal. These latter journeys are the subject matter of my new book, currently with the publisher and hopefully available early next year. Thanks to everyone who read and enjoyed my earlier books. They are available on my website http://www.noelbraun.com.au
If you are interested in ordering The Day was Made for Walking or one of my other books, go to my website http://www.noelbraun.com.au
Noel Braun is a remarkable man. The loss of his wife signified a great change in his life and instead of dropping his bundle, he devised ways to negate his feelings of grief and loss.
He is a man I would call a hero. He’s not a great sports star, actor or celebrity, but in my eyes he tackled his problems head on and has written of his journey in a sincere and honest way. Reading about his pilgrimage across France and Spain is a humbling experience.
John Morrow’s Pick of the Week
Author Noel Braun’s prose is beautiful. In his book he pours out his emotions, his life story and his observations of life without reserve and with honesty.
I want to follow his footsteps – light the candles in stone chapels, share the bread and cheese, be inspired by the uplifting wayside graffiti, drink in the wonder, and rejoice at the tapestry of nature and resilient human spirit.
If any reader is not inspired by this book, by this man’s humble and amazing achievements – you’re probably dead already.
Wendy O’Hanlon Acres Australia
My new book The Day Was Made for Walking is subtitled Searching for Meaning on the Camino de Santiago. The blurb on the back cover is as follows:
Noel Braun yearns to walk the Camino, the ancient pilgrimage route that leads across France and Spain to Santiago de Compostela. Since the suicide of Maris, his beloved wife of forty-two years, he has struggled to find himself. But is it pure madness? He’s an old bloke. At seventy-seven-years, he should be sensible, act his age and relax in a rocking chair. Can his body and spirit withstand the demands? Can he leave family and friends behind? Noel believes this is a journey he MUST undertake. It’s a compulsion, a spiritual quest of self-discovery, an urgent need to commune with the world around and beyond him.
When Noel begins his journey, he discovers it’s not just the rigorous demands of the physical world he must answer. The territory of the heart and soul has its own challenges, which have him searching for spiritual and emotional insights. His travels are interwoven with accounts of the many engaging characters he meets. In time he realises he himself is one of the Camino’s characters.
The Day Was Made for Walking merges the spiritual with the physical, the ancient with the contemporary. It is a memoir, but also a glimpse into history and a travel guide.
Go to my website http://www.noelbraun.com.au to order this or my other books.
Noel Braun 