“Most people now have heard of the Camino across Spain, or even seen the film about it (The Way),” says author Denise Fainberg. “Far fewer know the French paths that were frequented from the tenth century on, as pilgrims flocked to faraway Spain.”
Fainberg reads from her recently published Walking through Sunflowers: Through Deepest France on the Road to Compostela at the Downtown and Redmond Libraries.
Fainberg’s presentations are part of the Second Sunday and “Know You” series at Deschutes Public Librariesin September. The presentations are free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale.
Sunday, September 13 | 2:00 p.m. | Downtown Bend Library
Saturday, September 19, 2015 | 2:00 p.m. | Redmond Library

Fainberg, the author of three books, including Explorer’s Guide Washington and Explorer’s Guide Oregon, has called Oregon home for over two decades. Her new book is the account of a walking pilgrimage along one of the French trails that connects with the now-famous Camino de Santiago.  Now a Unesco World Heritage site the Camino de Santiago was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during medieval times. At the end of the trail pilgrims find themselves at the site where the body of St. James the Apostle is believed to be buried. “Walking through Sunflowerstraces the contemporary pilgrim journey across the varied terrain of southern France,” says Fainberg,“with its inner and outer adventures.”

Fainberg has walked numerous pilgrimage paths in Europe, including routes through France and Spain to Santiago, and one to Assisi.  Her articles on these journeys have appeared in The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.  A former instructor of foreign languages, she writes and translates in Bend, Oregon.

For more information about this or other library programs, please visit the library website at www.deschuteslibrary.org. People with disabilities needing accommodations (alternative formats, seating or auxiliary aides) should contact Liz at 312-1032.