A Hiker's Guide to Purgatory: A Novel

by Michael Norton

In the evening of life, we shall be judged on love. —Saint John of the Cross

We cannot begin to know ourselves until we can see the real reasons why we do the things we do. —Thomas Merton

“Of course you don’t deserve it! Nobody deserves it. It’s not a merit badge; it’s a gift.

In the end, he thought, there were no villains here. Only people who had followed the wrong dreams and lost their way, never realizing the damage they were doing in the process.

The skeptics have it backwards, he thought. Faith isn’t a crutch for people who aren’t brave enough to face reality. It takes no courage at all to play it safe, refuse to risk, sneer from the sidelines. That’s the coward’s game. Believing, now—that takes guts.

“He’s always running with us, son,” said Pat. “Always has been. Always will be.”