A friend thought that I should read The Walk by Richard Paul Evans as I prepare for my Virtual Literary Tour around the World, so I read it, and feel as if there is a part two there somewhere. One again, I felt very much let down, and I need to seriously work on the kind of expectations I have for “works of art.” I’m feeling that the best is yet to come with this book.
Alan Christoffersen is an ad man, and he is married to McKale whom he met when he was nine years old. The wife calls the shots in the relationship, and he adores her. Alan attains success early in life, and he works very hard, but doesn’t understand his priorities and the important things in life. Both he and his wife live beyond their means and are overextended. McKale loves to shop and doesn't pay the bills on time – Alan indulges her because he adores her.
Al decides to go out on his own and starts his own advertising firm. He hires Kyle, but there is something about him that makes it difficult for McKale to trust him. Alan and Kyle are pitching to a housing development firm, the Bridge with $3 million advertising budget. During the pitch, Falane, one of the employees interrupts the meeting to tell Alan that his wife has had an accident.
McKale falls off her horse and becomes paralyzed, and during the time while Alan is at the hospital offering support to his injured wife, Kyle is supposed to be taking care of business. But instead, he starts another agency and takes all the clients and staff, except for Falane who refuses to go with him. Obviously, he has never heard of the saying to not kick a poor man when he is down.
Alan takes McKale home in a wheelchair, but she gets an infection and has a fever. Her weakened immune system cannot fight it and she dies from cardiac arrest in the hospital. His financial affairs is a mess – they over extended themselves and wasted money. They lived above and beyond their means and now have to pay the price.
Now that McKale, the love of his life has died, Alan thinks he has no reason for living. He loses his wife, his business, the cars, the house. He is about to commit suicide when he hears a voice, “Life is not yours to take.” He looks around but he is alone. He also remembers that McKale told him just before she died – “Live.”
The people from the bank come to inspect the house since they have foreclosed on it. Alan decides that he will walk and remembers when he was 15 reading a book about a guy who walked across America. In this moment of grief, loss and intense sadness, Alan wants to roam freely. He remembers a quote from one of his favorite comedian, “Anyplace is within walking distance if you have the time.”
Alan decides to walk to Key West in Florida and leaves that very day. He calls his accountant and asks him to close out the business and business accounts and if any money is left over to deposit to his personal account. He is prepared to leave everything behind except McKale's jewellery which has meaning to him. Falane who turns out to be the only true friend, offers to help him sell the things in his house, as well as the things in his office.
He and McKale had been hikers so they already have some of what he needs for the long walk. He also has camping equipment compliments from a small client that he had worked with. He packs his backpack and is on his way. His constant companions – grief, bitterness and despair.
We learn that when Alan wrote ad copy for clients he didn't necessarily test the product, therefore was not writing from experience. Fortunately for him, when he first uses the tent, he finds that the tent from the former client is easy to assemble.
Al continues on his trip, and passes through many small towns. The nights are the hardest because that's when he thinks of McKale the most. He stops at a resort to get lunch and finds himself sitting a few tables away from Ralph, one of his former employees, who cheated him, as well as cheated on his wife Cheryl. He is furious, but seeing the way Ralph interacts with his children and wife decides to keep himself in check. While he is leaving, Ralph is giving his son Eric a lesson on not taking what doesn't belong to him – Alan cannot help himself and says, “Remember, Ralphie, whether it's Cheryl or me you're cheating on, it's all the same. The reward for cheating is you end up in bed with a cheater.” He continues on his journey.
As he moves from town to town he sometimes try to imagine people's lives. He stops at a diner to have breakfast, and the waitress who serves him says her name is Flo and that's also what her name tag says, but he asks her for her real name, which is Ally. Alan is the first person who has ever asked her what her real name is. It makes you wonder, if we simply accept things at face value. There are some bungalows around so Alan asks Ally if they are vacant and rents one. He needs to get a bath and wash his clothes and get a good night's sleep.
Ally brings him dinner and they really talk, about the difficult stuff that people try to hide. She tells him about trying to slit her wrist after her stepfather sexually abused her from age seven. He was incarcerated but her mother disowned her and she was placed into foster care. At one point, Ally lived on the street, was caught shoplifting at Wal-mart and was sent to juvenile detention. Leah, a role model and mentor helped her to turn her life around.
Al shares his story about almost taking his life and hearing the voice. I thought it was a powerful moment in the story when Ally tells Alan that Leah taught her before she died from cancer, that people come into our lives for a reason, and to save ourselves, we must serve others. Ally believes that Alan is one of the people she is supposed to meet in life. The next day he feels different and remembers the good things about McKale instead of feeling the intense sadness. This is one of the poignant moments in The Walk.
The next day after Alan is on his way, he comes across a woman with a flat tire, although she is afraid of getting help from a stranger, he helps her anyway. She tries to pay him, but he doesn't accept payment. She offers him a ride, but he refuses it as well. She hands him her business card and he puts it away.
Alan stays in a bed and breakfast establishment but doesn't sleep well because he and McKale used to stay in many bed and breakfast places. Colleen Hammersmith the owner of the establishment tells Alan that some people who stay there are disturbed staying in his room because it faces a funeral home. She indicates that she isn't afraid of death since she died when she was 12, when 7000 volts of electricity went through her body. She had an out of body experience.
She is obviously one of the people he is supposed to meet. Alan is able to stay inside at nights when he has access to accommodations because Falane comes through for him – he has over $28,000 in his bank account from the sale of his possessions.
While he is walking, after a long day of travelling, he finds another hotel, but there are no vacancies so he continues on his walk to Spokane. Gang members attack him, nearly killing him. He is saved by men who are returning from a hunting trip who have shotguns. Alan has his own near death experience and McKale tells him it isn't his time yet. He wakes up in the hospital with a lady sitting by his bedside – the same stranger he helped to change her tire. Police officers called her because he had her business card. Her name is Annie but friends call her Angel, and this is important because when he was having his near death experience and he sees his wife, McKale tells him that he needs people and many will come – Angel.
Because of his serious injuries, he is unable to continue his walk. He is homeless but Angel invites him to stay with her, so that he can regain the strength to continue the journey. A big lesson in The Walk by Richard Paul Evans is that we often do not stretch ourselves enough so we never quite reach our full potential. Another lesson is that a lot of money doesn't translate into happiness. Adversity often forces us to re-evaluate our lives and step outside our comfort zone if we choose to “live” fully.
At the end of the story, I felt my expectations were dashed, I was expecting so much more, and that's my problem. The way the story ends you can imagine what happens next. But I wanted more from the story. For instance, I hoped that he would complete his walk and return to Seattle and settle down with Falane.
I recommend The Walk by Richard Paul Evans because I think it's worth reading, but it does need a part two for the story to feel like it has been completed.
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