I enjoyed going on the adventure with Andrew McCarthy and his son Sam, 20 years old. Together they walk the Camino de Santiago together (which Andrew had done 25 years before so prior to Sam being born). One thing that amazed me is I know my son who is in his 20"s would never tolerate me sharing so much about him so I am glad I felt like I got to know Sam as well as his relationship with his father. Sam is recovering from a break-up and this journey helps give him perspective. I smiled reading about the generational differences (from music choices to using paper guidebooks vs. your smartphone). We also learn about Andrew's struggles in his relationship with his own father who had anger issues. I really enjoyed insights he raises about being a parent such as never knowing how much and when to interject or intervene and when to know to keep your mouth shut. He also poignantly describes his son's birth and being in the NICU (neo-natal Intensive care unit) which my son did too. At another point, he talks about observing our children (now adults) in the company and how we see them more clearly as if through their eyes -- this is also beautifully said - I too have had this experience with my son. I recommend this book. Thank you to Andrew McCarthy and Sam for sharing their journey!

Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for an ARC. I left this review voluntarily.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. My issue is, Andrew was not a compelling character to follow. I found him annoying and pretentious. When he was talking about Spain, it was great. When he was talking about how successful he is, it wasn't. All in all it's a B-

Finished ✔️ Walking with Sam by Andrew McCarthy and enjoyed it.
5 ⭐️’s
Publish Day: Happy Pub Day!
Kindle Unlimited: No
I loved this book. The journey both physical and emotional was immensely relatable. I felt like I was walking right beside them. At times this book was even funny. I would recommend this book to others.
This book engrossed me in more ways than one. It was beautifully and wonderfully written & told!
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Thank you Grand Central Publishing and Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this father-son pilgrimage. ‘80s nostalgia had caused me to listen to the audiobook of "Brat," Andrew McCarthy’s autobiography, a surprisingly self-reflective journey through his past as a charter member of the Hollywood “Brat Pack.” Having heard that McCarthy was an editor at large at National Geographic Traveler, I was curious about his 500 mile trek with his teenage son, Sam, on the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. McCarthy had walked the trail solo 26 years prior when he undertook a journey of self-discovery months after ending a drinking habit that had derailed his life and the decline of a once-promising movie career. A quarter of a century later, McCarthy decided to return to the Camino with Sam who was struggling with the breakup of a relationship. As would be expected, McCarthy lacks patience for Sam’s “morning sloth,” and Sam immediately questions his father, “I mean, bro, what’s the point of this fucking walk?” Yet, the time that the two share on the punishing trail — time that McCarthy declares is “that greatest of parental luxuries with an adult child” — brings them together as Sam ruminates about The Ex back home (McCarthy silently agrees with his son’s assessment that no one “on the planet [could] be talking about [the breakup] more”), navigates with Snapchat (causing his father to ditch the heavy guidebooks that he had been lugging around), discusses Coke in cans vs. bottles, ketogenic diets, and rap music and, ultimately, become partners on the road. McCarthy reflects on his marriages, his divorce, child-rearing, and the impact of fame while also addressing the history of the trail. Part travelogue, part history, part revelatory memoir, Travels with Sam is Bien Camino.

I liked Andrew McCarthy the best in Pretty in Pink. I read one of his other books so I was eager to read this one.
It’s touching, honest account of his trek with his son across Spain’s El Camino road, a journey McCathy made over 20 years before.
I think father and son bonded because the experience afforded them the chance to really get to know each other on many levels.
Getting closer to your son is always a good idea.

I loved this book. I met Andrew McCarthy at a comic con once and found him stand-offish and it slightly tainted my teenage crush on him. Well, this book fixed all of that! I now feel like I have a bigger glimpse into his personality and can relate more. I was able to read this as an advanced EBook from NetGalley and am very grateful to have been given this opportunity. This book was so much more than a travel memoir about a father and son walking the Camino de Santiago. I learned so much about the Camino, and the relationship between these two men. I’ve always wanted to walk across the United States, and now I’m adding this pilgrimage to my bucket list. McCarthy is a terrific writer and I would love to read more from him. I’ll be purchasing this book as soon as it’s released. It’s a keeper!

A lovely story of a father a son & the hike along the Camino de Santiago a story of their relationship the trail itself and life in general.Andrew McCarthy a wonderful actor also has a wonderful voice as an author.#netgalley #grandcentral.

Lace up those hiking boots!! This heartwarming and REAL book tells the story of a father, a son, and nothing but 500 miles of path ahead. I have to admit that I was drawn to this book first, because who doesn't love Andrew McCarthy, and second, because I've only heard of the Camino de Santiago in recent years and it has peaked fancy. The fact that this is Andrew's second trek on the Camino was fascinating. I enjoyed the back and forth between father and son along the way just as much as I enjoyed Andrew's take on how the Camino has changed since his last walk. Having a son around Sam's age, I couldn't help but think about how it would be if we were on the path. What would our discussions be? What would our disagreements be? Totally worth the read, I guarantee you will be researching the trail for your own possible walk!

What an amazing talent Andrew McCarthy is! I have had the pleasure of hearing him speak at the National Geographic Society, have see him act on the stage and screen, have been captivated by his directorial works and can now add this novel to the list of creations I have been privileged to enjoy,

Walking with Sam is not in any way a Hollywood tale. If that is what you are looking for, read his book, Brat. Walking with Sam is the most honest and vulnerable story of a relationship between a parent and young adult child that I have ever read. It may have been written by a celebrity, but each and every experience is that of the everyday parent and child.

Andrew and his 19 year old son, Sam, embark on a walking pilgrimage of 500 miles across Spain known as the Camino de Santiago. Andrew has completed this walk before in his early 30s and he was greatly impacted by the experience. He wanted his son to have that same experience and he wanted to be there to share in it. Any parent of a teen knows that the likelihood of that happening in a serene, contemplative way is pretty much nil. But we all know that the strongest bonds are forged from fire.

This memoir contains amazing moments of connection and discord between a father and his son from his first marriage. Why did the parents break up? Accepting the second wife and half siblings. Apologies for failures. The son lamenting the loss of his first love. Working through the pain literally step by step. The challenges of wanting to fix things for your child and realizing that they just need to know you are supportive of them. They need to find their own answers. Realizing that each man does their own walk, both on the Camino de Santiago and in life. But the company you keep is everything,

The stages of this journey were much like the stages of grief.
1) Denial - this will be a great trip we are going to have a fabulous time just walking and talking.
2) Anger - Why can't you do your laundry when I ask you too? Could you stop knocking over your coffee ? Could you please get up early so we can leave "on time"?
3) Bargaining - If we walk the rest of the way today you can have some ice cream and a Coke.
4) Depression- Did I screw up too badly? Was I gone too much? Can he forgive me? Can't even hug the Saint.
5) Acceptance - Parent and child seeing each other for who they truly are - faults and all. Embracing this. It was truly about the journey, The best news is that Sam's journey through life is just beginning and he will have a loving, imperfect father with him along the way.

Being the parent of a teen myself, I was engrossed in this book. Once this is published, it will defiantly be one that I share with my bookclubs and will strongly recommend to all. The writing is beautiful and the imagery transports you to each place and emotion with a deft touch. Just writing this review makes me want to read it again.

My thanks to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing and Andrew and Sam McCarthy for the ARC of this book.

This is the third nonfiction book I’ve read by Andrew McCarthy. I’ve enjoyed each one, but I think each one is an improvement over the last.

“Walking with Sam” recounts McCarthy’s 500-mile journey across Spain with his 19-year-old son Sam. McCarthy. A self-described loner, McCarthy had already made a solo pilgrimage across the Camino de Santiago as a younger man. In his first trek, he was searching for a sense of earned accomplishment. In his second, he’s looking for a chance to bond with his son, who is coming of age and trying to move on from his first real breakup.

McCarthy shares his introspections on father and son relationships, weaved in with vivid descriptions of the people and towns that populate the trail, as well as historical anecdotes he’s picked up along the way. Though I have never been to Spain, I could easily visualize what McCarthy was describing as I read.

If you like to travel or like to read books about relationship dynamics between parents or children, I recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing company for the Arc.

I liked Andrew McCarthy’s last book Brat, and was looking foreword to read this one. I like his style of writing. I just found this a little boring. The walk was fascinating,
and he described what he experienced well. I think it may be that his son was a little annoying and he just seemed like a brat. I feel that the book was supposed to show them getting closer which they somewhat did, but the son just wasn’t too likeable.

This is a very intimate portrait of a father and son, connecting on a deeper level, by walking in Spain.

Andrew McCarthy is a wonderful actor - but perhaps, he's an even better writer. I felt like I was walking aside him and Sam.

This should be in the 'must read' stack for every father and son.

Thanks to netGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

Five things about Walking With Sam by Andrew McCarthy 📚📚📚

1. Oofta…Sam sounds like a navel-gazing toddler with a nicotine addiction and an inability to focus. I doubt he is any of this in great measure but he’s written this way in the book. If I were Sam I’d be pretty uncomfortable with this depiction of myself.
2. Wowzers…McCarthy comes across as pompous and depressed…and maybe he is…but it didn’t read as authentic. It read as a desire to sound “smart” in his writing and to set us (the reader) up for the magical transformation the Camino will inevitably bring about.
3. I love…and I mean LOVE…walking to transformation memoirs. This one felt like a stretch. It feels like they walked so they could write this book…not like they walked and then needed to write this book.
4. What I loved about this was the little historical asides. McCarthy was at his best when he wasn’t talking about himself. I’d read some fiction or history by him. I think he’s just too self-conscious and task-oriented (writing a book to generate some income) when writing about himself. And he was all too willing to hype up the normal little things we all do into bigger “issues” in an effort to try to create drama that do obviously didn’t really impact this walk.
5. If you read the subtext…the story between the lines…I think this father and son had a pleasant time bonding on the Camino. I’d have loved to read that book instead of this long-winded whine that reminded me of Joey Tribuani trying to open that milk cartoon for a carton screw commercial. Don’t get me wrong…I grew up loving McCarthy and I still do…I just think this book is born of a whisper and a shoestring.

Andrew McCarthy was popular when I Wes young in and watched all of the popular movies. He is still cute and charming as he walks across Spain with his almost adult son. There are some father son exchanges and history of the trail. The pair meet several characters on the trail and they form a bond with some. However, the gist is the bond between Sam and his dad.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

This is a journey I want to take so it was a great read... These books tend to be mother daughter journeys so it was nice to read the father son version. Thank you!

I received a copy of "Walking with Sam" through NetGalley. I first heard of Andrew McCarthy and his son Sam's walk on the Camino while following them on a facebook blog. Glad I am getting the chance to read the book. It is written by Andrew McCarthy. He breaks each chapter down on days they walked. He writes the discussions they have through the day. The ups and downs of walking the Camino, What kind of weather and terrain they had. such as hills, hot weather, rain. Walking with other Pilgrims. The nice bonding they had as father and son. I had a friend who has walked the Camino twice so found it of interest to read about other experiences. I liked this book. Thought the author did a good job writing of his experiences on the Camino.

Okay… I will wholeheartedly admit that the main reason I wanted to read this book is because I spent most of the 80’s (my teenage years) pining after Andrew McCarthy. His posters blanketed my bedroom walls, and I could recite every line from his movies (especially Pretty in Pink and St. Elmo’s Fire). But, anyway, I digress. I will also confess that I had never heard of the Camino de Santiago until I read this book. One of the main highlights of this story - in my opinion - is Andrew’s telling of the Camino’s history. This was my first time reading his work, and he has such a beautiful and eloquent way with words. I could almost picture in my mind every detail of their walk, from the cathedrals to the rustic towns along the way and all the fascinating people they met in between. When they finally reached Santiago, I cheered right along with them. I can only imagine what a truly amazing experience it was for them to share this adventure together. Well done, gentlemen…well done! 👏🏼