Blending soulful insight, dry wit, and hard-earned real-world wisdom, these articles offer more than just feel-good inspiration — they’re field guides for anyone who’s found themselves standing at a crossroads or stuck in a life crisis. Whether you’re navigating an empty nest, a career change, a major loss, or just a nagging sense that your life needs a rewrite, you’ll find thoughtful guidance, gentle provocation, and the occasional laugh — all aimed at helping you rediscover clarity, reclaim your purpose, and set off in a new, more aligned direction.
- The Grief Nobody Talks About During Big Life Changes
. When we hear the word grief, most of us think of bereavement. We think of funerals, sympathy cards and the aching absence of someone we loved. But grief is far less selective than that. Over the years, I’ve come to believe that many people walking through a bog life change aren’t simply stressed, anxious …Continue reading “The Grief Nobody Talks About During Big Life Changes”
- Why Does Life Fall Apart Just When You Think You Have It All Together
. Just when you’ve finally got the hang of things, the children have grown up, your career feels secure, the mortgage is becoming less frightening, or you’ve settled into a comfortable routine, life has a habit of throwing a rather spectacular spanner in the works. A redundancy. A divorce. A frightening diagnosis. The loss of …Continue reading “Why Does Life Fall Apart Just When You Think You Have It All Together”
- Can Walking Solve a Career Crisis? What the Camino de Santiago Does That Therapy and Career Coaching Don’t
When you’ve outgrown the job, the industry, or possibly the identity you built in your thirties and forties, the Camino has a suggestion: start walking. Does walking the Camino actually help with a career crisis? Yes — but not by producing answers directly. A 5-day break with 3 days of sustained walking on the Camino … - Slow Living Summer Series
. There is something different at my little farm in the southwest of France this summer (and your Fridays are about to get even better) My archives are here: Margaretha Montagu’s Stories. Last week I caught myself doing the thing again. You know the thing. Phone in hand, re-reading an email I’d already answered and mentally … - Why More Men Are Choosing a Walking Break Over a “Wellness” Men’s Retreat
(And why short nature immersion Camino de Santiago breaks in France are so popular) No man has ever said yes to a “healing men’s retreat.” Plenty have said yes to a hard week of walking through France with three other guys and no phone signal. Take Mark, for example. Mark had told his wife it …Continue reading “Why More Men Are Choosing a Walking Break Over a “Wellness” Men’s Retreat”
- Walking to Reduce Anxiety: The Ancient Art of Walking Your Worries Away on the Camino de Santiago
Why five days on the Camino de Santiago does what three months of therapy cannot — and costs less than your gym membership What This Article Is About (And Whether It’s Worth Your Next Five Minutes) You are probably carrying more than you should be right now. Not in your bag — in your head. … - How to Maintain a Friendship: Why a Shared Adventure Beats Another Restaurant Dinner
You’ve been ‘meaning to do something memorable‘ together for years to maintain a friendship. This is the trip that finally counts — and the story you’ll still be telling at 80. What This Article Is About Somewhere in your life there is a friend — possibly two, possibly three — with whom you have been … - The Camino de Santiago for Sceptics: Do You Have to Be Religious to Walk the Camino?
You don’t need to be religious, mystical, or even particularly outdoorsy. But something happens on the Camino that even the most committed cynic finds hard to explain. What This Article Is About This article is specifically for you if you have heard about the Camino de Santiago, felt a flicker of something that might generously … - Solo Travel for Women Who Are Scared of Solo Travel
Practical, honest, and occasionally hilarious — a solo travel guide to taking the trip you’ve been putting off because no one will come with you What This Article Is About You have a list. You’ve had it for years. It lives somewhere between your to-do app and your heart, and near the top of it …Continue reading “Solo Travel for Women Who Are Scared of Solo Travel”
- Are You looking for Meaningful Travel Experiences? Maybe An Active Holiday for Adults?
If you wonder if there are alternatives to beach holidays for adults, rest assured, there are meaningful travel experiences for grown-ups who are bored of beach resorts but have been traumatised by tents — especially the 5-day Camino de Santiago option you didn’t know existed What This Article Is About There are two types of … - Could Walking the Camino de Santiago Help Me Process My Grief? – Walking Through Grief
When the ordinary tools of healing aren’t working, sometimes the answer is to put on your boots and start walking — as this ancient French pilgrimage route has been proving for a thousand years What This Article Is About This article is for anyone who is carrying a loss that refuses to fade. Not a … - Walking Shoes for the Camino de Santiago: Recommendations for durable and comfortable shoes for varied terrain
A Simple Guide to Finding The Perfect Camino de Santiago Walking Shoe Walking Shoe Buying Checklist : free downloadable document (pdf) There is a particular kind of optimism involved in lacing up a pair of walking shoes and heading out the door. You don’t know exactly what the ground will throw at you — rain-slicked … - Walking Together as a Couple: Can Walking The Camino de Santiago Together Improve our Relationship?
Couples who walk the Camino together don’t just survive the blisters — they start talking to each other in a different way. What This Article Is About This article is for the couple who is fine. Not in crisis, not miserable, not in need of urgent intervention — just fine. Fine in the way that … - Why So Many Women Book Camino de Santiago Walking Breaks On Their Own
And why they rarely regret it – because somewhere between the silence, the vineyards, the blisters, and the breathtaking relief of not having to take care of absolutely everyone else for five whole days, many women rediscover the version of themselves they thought life had quietly swallowed whole. Some women book Camino walking breaks because …Continue reading “Why So Many Women Book Camino de Santiago Walking Breaks On Their Own”
- Book Review: An Immense World by Ed Yong
★★★★★ Reviewed by Margaretha Montagu, host of the Book Lovers’ Binge Reading and Camino de Santiago Walking Retreats There are books that make you smarter, and then there are books that make you feel like you have been walking around half-blind your entire life — not in a crushing, existential way, but in the most … - We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know
Why the Wisest Thing You Can Do Right Now Is Admit You Might Be Missing the Whole Picture What this is: A raw, honest, occasionally funny exploration of what we don’t know and why the most transformative thing you can do for your life is acknowledge what you cannot yet see, and what happens when …
Ready for a retreat? Do you dream of escaping your stressful life to raise a herd of goats or grow sunflowers in the south of France? Then you may be ready for an Esprit Meraki retreat. Get access to this “very serious” quiz to help you figure out how urgent your need for a change of scenery is when you subscribe to my monthly newsletter.
Author Bio: Dr Margaretha Montagu – described as a “game changer”, “gifted healer”, “guiding light” and “life-enriching author” – is an experienced medical doctor, a certified NLP practitioner, a medical hypnotherapist, an equine-assisted psychotherapist (EAGALAcertified) and a transformational retreat leader who guides her clients through life transitions – virtually, or with the assistance of her Friesian and Falabella horses, at their home in the southwest of France.