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"A vivid, thoughtful, and openhearted pilgrim's tale of regeneration, Toward Beauty will charm and move you and make you laugh." -Emma Donoghue, bestselling author of Room
¿¿At the Grand Theatre in London, Canada, artistic director Dennis Garnhum is getting ready to debut a hotly anticipated production. But the morning of opening night, the world suddenly shuts down. COVID -19 has arrived, the play is lost in limbo, and the theatre's doors close indefinitely.
Facing a crisis of confidence and a deep despair over the loss of his creative expression, Garnhum travels to northern Spain to hike the rugged Camino de Santiago del Norte, a winding path of 830 kilometres that hugs the Atlantic Ocean. As he hikes from town to town alone, Garnhum tries to reconcile his life's contradictions-his identity as a public figure and independent artist; his simultaneous need for conversation and solitude; his Catholic upbringing alongside his life as a gay man. With each step, Garnhum realizes that the way forward is to trust in the power of the ancient path.
Part poignant memoir, part irresistibly charming travelogue, Toward Beauty follows Garnhum through the colourful moments of the trail and the unique camaraderie he finds among fellow pilgrims from around the world. Throughout, Garnhum's story shines a light on the power of the human spirit to overcome heartbreak and fear and move toward beauty, one small step at a time.
About the author
Dennis Garnhum is a writer, a theatre director, and the artistic director of the Grand Theatre in London, Canada. Before that, he was the artistic director of Theatre Calgary between 2005 and 2016. In addition to directing at those theatres, he has been a guest director of productions for Bangkok University in Thailand and for companies which include the Stratford Festival, Shaw Festival, Canadian Stage, American Conservatory Theater, Vancouver Opera, National Arts Centre, Tarragon Theatre, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Florida Grand Opera, Bard on the Beach, and Citadel Theatre. Garnhum is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He has written and cowritten several award-winning plays and adaptations, including Lost: A Memoir, Timothy Findley's The Wars, and A Christmas Carol. Toward Beauty is his first book. He lives in Ontario with his family.
