Author Reg Spittle

The Cotswold Way: To the Hilltops We Go

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Five days on England’s Cotswold Way and the trail has taken us to every hilltop in sight and some we didn’t see until we emerged from dark forests. Planners largely kept the path above the quaint villages we had expected would be daily features.

The tradeoff? Fantastic views, crowds of day hikers, fierce winds, very little road walking, and steep climbs as we walk through hilly parks and golf courses. Loose, well-behaved dogs everywhere. Sheep, cattle, and horses. And surprisingly few people thru-hiking the Cotswold Way.

Look closely and you’ll see a golf course below us in the top photo. One day we sat on a cement block next to a curious building (an emergency shelter for sheep?) for a picnic.

The weather has turned cool and blustery. A couple of showers brought out the rain gear today and Tuesday looks quite wet; four days to the finish line in Bath!

I’m Sorry, But Please Stop Apologizing

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Are we too judgmental of ourselves and others?

For Michael, a defining moment in his life comes on the Fourth of July when he is just seven years old. The event changes him forever and he will not see his parents for almost two decades.

Skip forward to when Michael is 19, and he walks into a lecture hall for his third college class, filmmaking. He glances at the middle-aged man—his professor—sitting at the table at the front of the room. Michael tries not to stare, but he soon realizes his eyes reveal a path to a new future.

At first glance, Michael is the perfect physical specimen of a young man, but he has learned to conceal what he thinks is his gross imperfection. The man at the table, with whom Michael immediately shares a bond unlike any other, guides Michael toward a new life, one absent of apologies.

What’s wrong with Michael? Or is the correct answer “Nothing!”

In Michael Without Apology, Catherine Ryan Hyde weaves a powerful story that connects us all to Michael. And maybe to the realization that will guide us to stop apologizing—to ourselves and to the world.

This book invites readers to ask themselves, “In the end, shouldn’t we be proud to be ourselves?”