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Rachel Joyce: "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry"

From Chaucer to John Bunyan, pilgrimages have always had a place in English literature. In a new novel, Harold Fry is a henpecked, 65-year-old, recently retired man living in a small town in Devon, England. When a letter arrives from a former colleague who is dying, He responds with a leap of faith, which surprises even him. Without premeditation, wearing a flimsy pair of boat shoes and a light jacket, he sets off to walk the length of England, believing his friend won’t die while he walks. “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry,” is a debut novel by actress-turned-playwright Rachel Joyce. She joins Diane to discuss her story about an ordinary man doing something extraordinary.

Read An Excerpt

Excerpted from "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" by Rachel Joyce. Copyright © 2012 by Rachel Joyce. Excerpted by permission of Random House, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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