St. Jacob’s Road – Dzvinka Matiyash | Camino‑de‑Santiago Memoir

St. Jacob’s Road by Dzvinka Matiyash is a beautifully illustrated memoir recounting the author’s pilgrimage along the Camino‑de‑Santiago (900 kilometers across Spain), culminating at Santiago de Compostela and Finisterre, the “End of the Earth.” In the updated 2024 hardcover edition from Vydavnytstvo Staroho Leva, Matiyash shares her experience walking this ancient route together with her husband: the preparation, the physical pain, moral challenges, and the moments when the road yields unexpected connections with fellow walkers—strangers bound by shared purpose and silent endurance.

The narrative moves beyond mere travelogue: the journey becomes a mirror for inner transformation. Through vivid descriptions of sunrise over dusty paths, the weight of a backpack, the solace found in quiet villages, and conversations with people whose stories transcend borders, Matiyash captures what it means to walk toward meaning. The act of walking becomes a ritual of letting go — of comforts, self‑judgments, preconceptions — and discovering what truly sustains us: human kindness, beauty in simplicity, the call of the horizon.

This edition, with its color illustrations by Oksana Yorysh, hardcover binding, and carefully chosen format (~145×205 mm), offers both aesthetic pleasure and depth. For readers who seek spiritual travel, introspection, or motivational memoirs, St. Jacob’s Road becomes more than a book — it’s an invitation to walk your own Camino.