A Furnace Full of God: A Holy Year on the Camino de Santiago

by Rebekah Scott

Rebekah and Patrick, burned-out newspaper journalists from the USA and England, were captured by the generous spirit they found the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail. They sold up their American lives and moved to Spain in 2006, to a town of twenty farmers inthe middle of the 500-mile, thousand-year-old pilgrim road. They did their best to catch the ancient rhythms of seedtime, harvest, pig-stickings and saints’ days.The year 2010 was a Holy Year, when more than 300,000 pilgrims walked to the shrine city of Santiago de Compostela. Some stayed at Peaceable Kingdom, the farmhouse where the couple offered a night’s food and lodging in exchange for whatever the pilgrim wanted to give. They were nuns, bums, Oxford dons, mystics, fugitives, hippies, and lunatics, as well as greyhounds, barn cats, roosters, and donkeys. Most moved on after a day or two, but some came to stay.“A Furnace full of God” is their story.

Genres: Memoir

266 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 25, 2019

About the author

Rebekah Scott is an American expatriate writer and blogger who lives in a tiny pueblo in rural Castilla y Leon, Spain.

She was born into a working-class family of coal miners and steel workers, but her father joined the US Air Force. Rebekah and her sisters were raised on military installations all over the world, by parents who kept them well-apprised of the local economy, politics, history, and culture. This nomadic upbringing, combined with a strong but tolerant Christian faith, continues to flavor Rebekah´s writing, outlook, and lifestyle.

Rebekah studied history and historiography at university, and started a career in journalism at a small-town newspaper in Western Pennsylvania. In the next 25 years she moved up the journalism ladder, raised two children, attended a seminary, specialized in travel and religion writing, and spent thee years as an international freelance journalist and a ghost-writer and editor of dubious natural-health books. She discovered Spain and the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail in 1993, and never looked back.

She married UK tabloid journalist Patrick O´Gara in 2003. They sold-up and moved in 2006 to a former sheep-pen in a tiny pueblo along the Camino, where they now look after many animals and the occasional pilgrim. Rebekah has kept "Big Fun in a Tiny Pueblo," an award-winning "life overseas" blog, since 2007. "The Moorish Whore," her first novel, was published in 2012.

Reviews

[Katie Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oops, I forgot that I had already added this on again so my whole Goodreads is a lie now.

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Edit: Just finished my second reread because my partner starts his pilgrimage tomorrow, so we spent the last few weeks reading it allowed to each other. Still one of my favorites and also the next Camino reading group book pic if you can join us in April! The author will be joining us for a Q&A 🥳

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One of my favorite Camino-centered memoirs so far. Lovely descriptions of the pilgrims who come and go to their home as well as the day-to-day descriptions of her life in the meseta and her own pilgrimages. Made me look ever more forward to doing my own Camino this summer, and I hope to stop here 🙂

[Elizabeth Brandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books about the Camino de Santiago I have read. It’s not a travelogue. Scott is an American expat who moves to a very small town on the Camino Frances. She weaves her experiences with the Camino into a year of her life in Spain. In doing so she captures the true spirit of the Camino and the meaning of pilgrimage in a way few others have.

[Anik Létourneau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one I couldn’t put down. So well written, I felt like I was in Spain and knew everyone in Moratinos. I laughed and cried and wanted it to last longer. A great read!

[Sandra Mc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had already read Rebekah’s translation of the book El Gran Caminante, and compared it with the original. I knew therefore that she has a most wonderful way with words. With this book, I could imagine sitting down with feet outstretched, the wind howling, the rain lashing against the window panes, the (real ) fire burning and snapping away in the hearth.... stop! This is about Rebekah and her book! So, yes, I loved the way she wove the stories into pictures. When I was a child, in the 50s, radio stories were wonderful, chapters told each week. This book would be perfect for that.
I finished the book this morning on the bus. A big mistake. I had to control my blubbering, because at this point in the book it traces a most difficult moment in the life of the people in Moratinos, Peaceable Kingdom. When is your next book coming out, Rebekah?

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading the other reviews I saw over and over the same words I would use to praise the book.

But there is more.

-- Yes, I couldn’t put it down, but had to wait until my wife devoured it.
-- I promised myself only two chapters a day - and I cheated on several occasions.
-- I was impressed by her ability to capture in words scenes with townspeople, her wonderful dogs, and the pilgrims.
-- I did want to go out and walk the Camino again as I finished almost every chapter.

But something I hadn’t seen much of in the other reviews, and it shows how skilled she is, is the perfectly crafted use of language, pace, and mix of seemingly unrelated elements in a story to wrap around the reader's heart, and not just the mind.

So even if you have no interest in walking the Camino de Santiago, or living in Spain, the reader cannot escape awareness of the vital place of creation (that Furnace Full of God) in shaping our life's path. Neighbors, more-than-pets, the landscape, how we allocate our time on earth and even the stars above are woven into a comfortable tapestry that tells a story at levels we seldom get to enjoy.

While reading it I assembled a list of those in my life who will get this book as a gift and today I start ordering copies from Amazon to be sent to their homes.

My copy stays right here for a second reading.

Note: My wife and I also moved to Spain after I walked the Camino to Santiago for a few weeks in 2016. Rebekah and Patrick have become friends and we have cared for their place while they were helping make the Camino a better experience for all.

[Ric Montelongo · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, let me note that I finished reading this book the evening of the insurrection that occurred on the nation's Capitol. Second, the completion of this book also coincided at with the Feast of the Epiphany. The juxtaposition between the day of Christ becoming incarnate and the near demise of democracy made this book more impactful for this reader. Through the lessons on how we can love and connect to strangers from distant lands, it reminds me that there still remains peace, love, and understanding in a harsh world. Rebekah Scott's reflections of a holy year in Moratinos, a small village on the Camino, provided snippets of the mysterious power of El Camino. I am glad I found this title. It provides a unique perspective for those interested in walking the Camino. The perspectives of those who live on The Way and their daily connections to pilgrims is must reading! In preparing for my own pilgrimage and part of my preparation is to understand and to build respect for those who will likely help me on my journey. Scott's chapters are short essays providing descriptions of joy, humor, wonder, and heartache of villagers who often give so much of themselves to strangers on The Way. Reading each if the early chapters was like a full day at The Peaceable , the authors alburgue. The later chapters provide unexpected emotional surprises that I will not reveal. Once I reached them, I could not put the book down. I hope to visit The Peaceable in 2025. It would be a fitting part of my own pilgrimage!

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book about life in the Holy Year of 2010 along the Camino de Santiago. Its pages are filled with many stories surrounding the lives of two hospitaleros, Rebekah and Patrick, expats from the U.S. and U.K. respectively, living within their small community of Moratinos on the Camino and running their Peaceable Kingdom," a refuge for pilgrims that hosts quite the diverse cast of characters, all of whom touch the lives of Rebekah and Patrick in so many ways. Moments of laughter, heartbreak and triumph grace its pages and will fill your hearts with sorrow and happiness as well. If you're a pilgrim, or soon-to-be pilgrim, or drawn to the Camino or any pilgrimage, I urge you to read this inspiring story of a holy year on the Camino. Buen Camino, Perogrinos y Peregrinas!

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting picture of people who have chosen to get away from the pressures of "modern life" by buying a farm along the Camino de Santiago. The book depicts a year (2010) on the farm as the writer struggles to maintain her spiritual balance with the everyday stresses involving contact with pilgrims as they stay for a day or longer, care of the animals on the farm, and stresses with family/friends health and life and death. Contains a beautiful quote from the author regarding coming to acceptance with her own limitations: "But at the base of me, in my heart, is a furnace full of God. That's the way he made me, and I am beautiful just the way I am."

[Jill Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could not put it down, a great read

I’ve just finished reading Rebekah Scott’s book “A Furnace Full of God” and it’s one of the most enjoyable things I’ve read all year. No preaching, never fear, but a page turning read about a year spent living in a tiny village in the middle of the Camino - everyday observations of nature, animals, village and family life, the comings and going’s of pilgrims and other assorted characters, thoughts about the Camino itself and set against the drama and majesty of the meseta. It had me laughing with joy and humour and weeping with sadness too. Could not put it down.
A wonderful book to read anytime, but particularly now.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about Rebekah and Patrick, newspaper journalists (she from the USA and he from England) who retire in the Spanish countryside along the Camino de Santiago. They bought a rundown farmhouse in a tiny town in the middle of the 500 mile trail and do their best to follow the ancient rhythms of this tiny, quiet town. They named their farmhouse the Peaceable Kingdom and offer food and lodging to the pilgrims that flow through on the Camino. They meet bums, fugitives, hippies, nuns, people who will become good friends. They also gather in stray dogs and cats. This is their story.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet, honest, and heartbreaking. Love!

[Dennis Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite memoirs about the camino and life in a small Spanish town. Highly recommend it for anyone interested in Spain or the camino. Well told with fascinating people.

[LL · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different perspective.

I've read many books of Camino pilgrims experience on the trail. This tells a different story of being a host to different nationalities of pilgrams in your own house. Adjusting to life in a small village with touching stories and a heartbreaking loss all goes together in this book.

[Tom Zepf · Rating 5 out of 5]

A touching collection of stories from expats living on the Meseta next to the Camino de Santiago. More than an alburgue, the Peaceable Kingdom is a place for pilgrims (of any sort) to rest, eat, restore, and set out again from. The story per chapter format means you really can't put it down until it is finished. I am very glad I read it.

[Thomas DeWolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having walked the Camino in 2019, this wonderful book is filled with stories about the owners of an albergue and the many different pilgrims who enter and depart their lives while on their own pilgrimages. A wonderful addition to the growing library of books about pilgrimage.

[Linhowie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusual and very readable Camino Tale

I enjoyed this book immensely and found myself immersed in the characters. I walked through Moratinos on my way to Santiago in 2019 not understanding much about the local people or their traditions but feeling part of the pilgrim river.

[Gretchen Montgomery · Rating 1 out of 5]

I kept waiting for the God part. I gave up. I read about a furnace full of self righteous, preachy judgement. Ugh. Oh and toss in a hearty handful of politics.

[Bharti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful gift for storytelling. Excellent for lockdown. I’ve never done the Camino but I felt party to each pilgrim’s joys and struggles through Scott’s wide-angled lens.

[Ruth M · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good taste of what the Camino is like.

I read this as I prepare for my 3rd Camino, and find that this is just what I need at this moment.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but not particularly gripping or well written.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an atypical book in that the author not only has walked the Camino, but also moved from the US to live on the Camino and take in pilgrims.

[Jeff Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best Camino book.

A book of stories, Camino stories. What more could anybody want. Rebekah has a way of drawing you into the intimate lives of pilgrims..

[Virginia Pulver · Rating 5 out of 5]

For so many reasons, Rebekah Scott's memoir held me rapt. Having visited her Peaceable Kingdom on the meseta of northern Spain, I was able to conjure up images of the story that artfully unfolds in this lovely book. I spent a few hours in this respite during my 2009 1000k solo pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. It was wonderful to feel the magic emanating from this ex-pat couple who were carving out a home and committing to a life of service. There is a lot of magic in this place. And there is healing too. Probably every pilgrim who walks the Way comes home harboring dreams of finding property in Spain and opening up an alburgue of their own. Reading about Scott's experience is gratifying, and eye-opening. It is a chance to live vicariously what life is like as an ex-patriot, carving out a home in a far way land. The book will draw you in. It will charm you. It will make you want to resuscitate your dreams and begin again. Scott's background as a journalist has honed her skills as a writer as evidenced in her precise, but heartfelt, prose. This is a beautiful read.