My new book is OUT!

I'm very excited to tell you that my new book has been launched into the world!

Solo Camino: An Empowering Guide for Women is out and ready for people to read. Hooray!

If you've been following along, you'll know that I walked the Camino Francés in April and May 2024. It was an incredible experience, one that I'm so grateful for. I loved spending so much time in nature and also the simplicity of travelling with only a backpack. As I walked, I was surprised by the number of women I met on the trail—ones in a tour group or walking with a partner or a friend—who told me they wished they had had the courage to walk alone. It was these conversations that planted the seed of Solo Camino. 

When I was three days from the end of my looooong walk (800km!), I received word that our family’s home had been significantly damaged in a fire. When I arrived back in Canada, the kind of celebration I'd imagined at the end of my journey wasn't possible and I turned to writing to help me remember and relive my Camino.

I truly felt as if someone had lit a fire under me - that's how driven I was in my writing. It was both a salve for the deep grief of losing our home and also something positive and hopeful to focus on. When I imagined that the writing I was doing might someday become a book that would help other women...well, that felt like pure light. Solid gold.

As I wrote, I remembered all the conversations I'd had on the Camino, but also with other women in regular life, all of us yearning for an adventure of our own but feeling held back by safety concerns, lack of confidence, or the deeply ingrained social message that it’s selfish for a woman to even contemplate a solo trip—not when so many other people are relying on her!

Solo Camino encourages you to prioritize your own dreams and needs and also reflect on what might be holding you back. In addition, it includes support, tips, and of course STORIES from my own walk. It's split into four parts—What is Standing in Your Way, Choose Your Path and Pack Your Bag, The Journey Itself: What I Learned on My Camino, and The Path Continues: After Your Camino—plus over 70 of my own full-colour photos!

My hope is that women from all over the world will find my book. The ones who’ve been dreaming of hopping on a plane or a train and then stepping out onto a path with only their own needs to answer to. The ones who feel the pull to create space for themselves and to walk in silence and enjoy all the delights of the natural world. The ones who long for an inner journey and the time to drop down inside themselves and reflect deeply on their lives.

Women like me, and like you.

Buy Solo Camino!

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Help me get the book into the hands of women who need it! Here are a few things you can do:

Buy the book!

And gift it to any women you know who dream of a solo adventure or who have been talking about walking the Camino (possibly for years, like I did!).

Leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads.

Even though Amazon’s algorithms are mysterious, there’s no doubt that having lots of positive reviews means my book will show up in their search rankings. This equals more people being able to discover it! Rating the book using stars is helpful, but if you take the time to write a few sentences, it is even more impactful.

Contact your local independent bookseller and library.

If you don’t want to buy on Amazon, there are other options! Just like my first book, Writing Your Way, this new book will be available at independent booksellers, larger chains (Indigo, Barnes & Noble, etc.), and also in libraries. Let your local shop or library know that you'd like them to carry it!

Spread the word.

Are you in a book club? Travel circle? Walking group? Solo Camino combines a love of adventure, travel, fitness, personal development, and the empowerment of women, making it a great topic for conversation! And don't forget to recommend me to anyone who has a reach (think podcast creator, blog writer, news personality).

Post on Social Media!

Adding to the all-important word of mouth is, of course, talking up the book in your online communities. If you use Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc., consider posting something and please use the #solocaminobook #reneehartleib hashtags.

Thank you for joining in my excitement and celebrating with me!

Read More About Solo Camino Here!