Jacob's Ladder: Mum's Desperate Bid To Save Her Son

Lorraine’s Brave Pilgrimage Ended In Double Tragedy

- Lynley Ward

There were times it was so painful, she could barely move, but every step of Lorraine Thomson’s 800km pilgrimage along the famed Spanish Camino Trail held promise her terminally ill son would be healed.

Little did the Auckland author realise it would prove vital preparation for her future’s solo path after tragically losing not one but two family members soon after returning home.

As she sits in her waterfront apartment with commanding views of Auckland’s Harbour Bridge, the former fitness magazine publisher and editor tells the Weekly the 40-day trek along the ancient religious road, which is documented in her autobiographical account The French Way, was filled with challenges. Yet in the midst of turmoil, she still managed to discover the inspiration she desperately sought.

“There’s quite a lot of drama in this story,” warns Lorraine (65), before explaining despite being physically prepared for the hike, it was scuppered on her first attempt in 2016 when her specially worn-in gear went missing in transit. “I had to go out and buy brand-new gear, so after eight days with new shoes on, my feet were wrecked! I ended up in hospital and had to come home. I had been planning this for ages. It was soul-destroying.”

After walking just 125km of the trek and with feet so raw from blisters she couldn’t wear shoes, the injured trekker returned home, forced to postpone plans for at least a year.