Walk Like a Girl: A Search for Self by Claudia Esnouf is an incredible story of exploration and discovery and taking chances—in our lives, our travel journeys, and our writing.
When Esnouf began telling her story as a memoir, she found her words to be too "stagnant, dull, and far too guarded," but when she rewrote her story as a fictionalized memoir from Antonia's perspective, the world of Walk Like a Girl opened up. Walking over 1,800 kilometers in eight months, she traveled through the Caucasus Mountains, Nepal, India, and the Camino Frances in Europe, only to then walk the Camino Portugues, as well. Fans of Wild by Cheryl Strayed and Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert will recognize a familiar, beloved story arc as Antonia tested her physical and mental limits, as well as the limits of her heart, as she questioned her marriage, happiness, and future amidst hikes, wandering mountains, and lingering danger.
Antonia's character is relatable, likable, and heavily nuanced. Not only is she strong and brave in the physical sense, braving unfamiliar countrysides, navigating new languages, and hiking challenging and dangerous terrain, but she also works through heartbreak, solitude, self-discovery, and for a while, a sense of directionlessness. What a person carries in their pack also says a lot about them, and while it was impractical, Antonia wanting to hold onto civilization, self-care, and the life she knew through her hair-straighteners, toiletries, and books, and gradually shedding these over the course of the journey, not only show her softer, more vulnerable side, but they also symbolize her letting go of her old life and walking toward a new one.
The heartbeat of this story pulses through the entire book and made me feel like I was journeying next to Antonia throughout her journey of solo travel and self-discovery, and knowing that this was a fictional take on a memoir made me feel like I knew Claudia Esnouf a little better, and I'm curious to see how these stories might be carried over and influence her future writing.
This story was uniquely transportive, and what I especially loved by the end was that early in the book, Antonia was thinking back on all of the travel stories she'd read in preparation for this trip, like Michael Palin, Anthony Bourdain, and Cheryl Strayed—and it's surreal because while these accounts helped her begin her trek, her story too is now part of my reading as I imagine making my own way.
From rampant water buffalo to crossing a freezing glacier to accidentally sleeping in a minefield, Antonia recounted all of these moments that were absolute showstoppers, but I found myself loving and reveling in the quiet moments, the small moments like a butterfly landing on your hand before moving on, and the introspection that took this book from being a good story to being an experience. I cannot recommend Walk Like a Girl enough and cannot wait to see what else Claudia Esnouf has in store for us.
