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McCarthy said a revelation he had while taking a walk in his early 30s changed him.
“In the middle of the wheat field, I broke down and had a tantrum,” he recalled. “I had an experience like a white light. Until then, crossing Spain was a tough road.Since then, I skipped it.”
He took up travel writing as a career and worked as editor-in-chief for National Geographic Traveler for 12 years. He called it an “accidental second career.” (He has also directed films and TV shows such as Orange Is the New Black and The Blacklist, and worked as a doctor on the set of Fox’s Resident in Atlanta, Virginia. still doing occasional acting jobs, such as participating in) – Highland District. )
Years later, McCarthy wanted to make another trip to Spain, but with his son Sam. “I left home when I was 17, and my relationship with my father practically ended there,” he said. “I didn’t want that to happen to my children.”
But he wasn’t quite sure if Sam would say yes.
“I mean, he was depressed after breaking up with his first love,” McCarthy said. “I caught the moment he was weak and said, ‘Do you want to walk? And he said, “Oh, I see.” I literally went to the next room and bought two tickets. And two days later, before he knew what hit him, we were in Spain. ”
In this way, McCarthy spent 31 days and 484 miles bonding with his son in a way he never could have otherwise.
“Time was the ultimate luxury that you rarely have with grown children,” he said. “The really important part of this whole thing was seeing him as an adult. And he says in the book: It takes a long time for children to see their parents as real people.” That trip gave us the opportunity to meet, and I think all we want in life is attention.”
He noted that Sam didn’t feel that way at first, but eventually embraced the journey.
“At the end he said, ‘This is the only thing I’ve ever done in my life that got a 10 out of 10,'” McCarthy said. “He feels kind of at home with himself now. And we felt more at home with each other.”
At the end of the pilgrimage, some walkers reach Finisterre on the sea, miles beyond their final destination. “His son wanted to walk there and asked me if I wanted to go,” he said. “I said no. I had to rest my body. The fact that he was trying to surpass what his father did was a suspended achievement of too low a metaphor to resist.” At that moment I thought, ‘I have a book’ here! ‘”
Interestingly, he said his son never read McCarthy’s entire manuscript. He helped read the lines for the audiobook, but did not offer his father any requests for changes or censorship.
Despite being relatively old, McCarthy was able to complete 1.6 million steps without serious injury. “At the end of each day, I was just devastated,” he said. “I lay with my feet against the wall for an hour watching my feet throb until I felt it again. By the end it was worn out. I was ready. Sam started slowly. By the second half he could have walked across two more countries.”
McCarthy said doing the book tour was a fun excursion in itself. He is looking forward to checking out the Plaza Theater for the first time and meeting his fans.
“I am the personification of a generation of young people,” he said. “I take pictures and ask questions. I’m completely a game.”
if you go
A Capella Books Presents: Andrew McCarthy Walking With Sam: A Conversation, $30, Tuesday, May 16, 7:00 PM, Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta, www.plazaatlanta.com
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