At 15, Lisa Dempster fell in love with the idea of the henro michi — a grueling 1,200km Buddhist pilgrimage through Japan's mountains — and swore she'd walk it someday.

Thirteen years later, "someday" looks nothing like she imagined. Depressed, broke, and stuck living with her mum, Lisa is 28 and drifting. Then a library book puts the henro michi back in her path, and something clicks. No money, no hiking experience, brutal summer heat — none of it matters. She's going, and she's walking her way back to herself.

Part travel memoir, part reckoning, this is the ultimate thru-hiking tale of one woman's journey along Japan's legendary 88 Temple Pilgrimage.