Johnnie Walker has just posted the following message to a Camino Facebook group. He has given me his permission to repeat his post here.
SEND A MESSAGE OF THANKS TO
JOHN BRIERLEY WHO IS SERIOUSLY ILL
Dear Friends,
We bring you the sad news that
John Brierley is very ill. Some time ago John began telling people that he was suffering from cancer. A few weeks ago he was in Spain to yet again update his guidebooks. He visited us in Santiago however his trip was cut short as his condition worsened.
We owe John a great debt. His guidebooks made the Camino routes accessible for thousands of pilgrims and his writings on the interior journey are an inspiration to many. John has been a hugely successful author and this gave him the opportunity to donate substantial amounts to Camino organisations and projects.
When he was here John spent time with Leigh and Patti of the Camino Café Podcast, recording his thoughts and memories. One of the upcoming episodes will be "Behind the Scenes of Camino Guides" which will introduce you to his daughter, Gemma. She has been working alongside him for years and will now be even more active in taking the guidebooks forward.
SEND YOUR PERSONAL THANKS TO JOHN
We are inviting the worldwide pilgrim community to express our gratitude to John so that he can feel the love and support of his fellow pilgrims.
In order to expedite this whilst respecting John’s privacy.
(Ivar: I have removed the email address since as of June 9th they have received over 1400 messages. Feel free to reply to this thread with your messages).
All messages will be printed and bound into a Book of Thanks which we will courier to John.
We are making this invitation with John’s permission. He sends his love and best wishes to pilgrims everywhere.
Thank you.
Leigh Brennan, Patti Pie Silva and Johnniewalker