Wendy
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Finally built up the courage to listen to 'Barefoot Pilgrimage'... 20-Mar-2021 10:28:32
| CorrsClub Time: 21-Mar-2025 23:27:17 |
...and now I lie next to a pile of tissues.
That was intense. Light and funny at times too, but intense.
When it was released, I wasn't ready to read it. I knew it'd be so heavy. But perhaps I'm more resilient after 2020, and I had some Audible credits - so I decided to brave it! In parts, of course. On buses, and at home. It would be too much in one go.
Ultimately, the book felt like an ode to their parents and their childhood. An exploration of life and death. The music career was almost an aside.
Usually I don't read/listen to sad books or watch sad movies, but I've been riding along on the journey of The Corrs for two decades, and I can't get off now. So, if I'm going to step into that puddle for anyone, it'd be for a Corr. I don't know if the book affected me so much because it was different to my usual literary diet - or if it's Andrea's special way with words and rollercoaster life. But I feel quite raw!
Hearing Andrea read it was especially emotional. She conveys so much depth and warmth, it's almost otherworldly. But it was also funny when she'd imitate others' voices, or put on accents. I liked hearing her say French phrases and place names. Thank heavens she narrated it; no one else in the world could make the words light up like she does.
The only downside of the audiobook version was the confusion about structure. I couldn't always tell if Andrea was reading a poem or if she was reading from the body of the text, and the timeline jumped around. I sort of want to read the hard copy now, to make a little more sense of it.
But, it was elegant, creative, cheeky, earthy and spiritual. It forces you to stop and assess what's truly important in life. Worthy of a re-listen.
Question: has anyone else read/listened to it twice? Did you pick up on new things the second time around or did it change you in any way?
Afterwards I re-read Mentari's reaction blog about it, because I needed to relate to someone else who'd listened to it - as though we'd climbed the same mountain! Re-sharing the link here:
https://msandiastri.wordpress.com/2019/10/19/more-than-the-mere-minutes-a-reaction-post-to-andrea-corrs-memoir-barefoot-pilgrimage/
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