She recounts weeks of struggle, blisters, days of joy, run-ins with Japanese wildlife, and a different home every night – from hostels to park benches.“I’ve been keeping a diary since I was about 12, and although it’s just always been something that I enjoy doing, a habit really, in hindsight it has been amazing training for being a non-fiction writer. It’s like two parts of the same journey.”Įach stage of Dempster’s journey is impressively detailed. But when I made the decision to actually go, I knew right from the start that I would write a book about it.” Dempster explains, “Even now that I have finished both the hike and the book, I can’t really separate the walking and the writing in my mind. “I’ve wanted to walk the henro michi since I was 15, it’s always been a dream of mine. Dempster’s latest book, Neon Pilgrim, is the product of her journey. Defeated, depressed, and desiring a mend, Dempster walked a 1200 kilometre pilgrimage around the Japanese island of Shikoku, braved a heavy Japanese summer, and penned her travels, all in one ‘fell’ (fifty-five day) swoop.
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