El Camino | A Way to Forgiveness

What happens when you set off to walk the Camino de Santiago carrying a broken heart, a camera and a question that may be harder to answer than any physical challenge on the trail: How do you forgive someone who has hurt you deeply? In 2015, American filmmaker and screenwriter Erin R. Dooley walked roughly 550 miles across Spain on the Camino Frances following the painful end of her twelve-year marriage. She had wanted to walk the Camino for years, but this time she wasn't simply looking for adventure. She was looking for healing — and she deliberately made forgiveness part of her pilgrimage. Erin took a camera with her, initially unsure what she would do with the footage. What emerged was a deeply personal documentary and, eventually, her book A Way to Forgiveness. Along the way she spoke with fellow pilgrims about betrayal, anger, reconciliation and forgiveness, while documenting her own emotional journey. The physical hardship of the Camino became a mirror for what was happening inside her: as her body grew stronger, she began to feel stronger emotionally too.In this conversation, Erin and I talk about what forgiveness actually means — and what it doesn't mean. Is forgiveness about letting go for your own sake, or is it ultimately something you do for the person who hurt you? Can you forgive someone who hasn't apologised? And can you forgive without reconciling with them? Erin's answers are thoughtful, challenging and deeply grounded in her faith. You can find Erin and her books here