Author Spotlight - Esther Jantzen
Esther Jantzen, author of the award-winning young adult book, Walk: Jamie Bacon’s Secret Mission on the Camino de Santiago, wants her books to support parents in guiding children to become enthusiastic readers, adventurers, and global citizens.
As a “third-culture kid,” she grew up in India in a missionary family and was educated in a boarding school in the Himalayan foothills. Fast-forward through college, a stint in New York City, and a happy career as a high school English teacher and single mother in Philadelphia, Pa.
Then the trumpet of greater adventures sounded: Jantzen moved to California and created a short-lived publishing company. She wrote a family literacy curriculum (now out of print) and a small book, Plus It: How to Easily Turn Everyday Activities into Learning Adventures for Kids (still available on Amazon).
In 2008, with a too-heavy backpack and ill-fitting boots, she walked the most famous ancient pilgrimage route in Europe, the 500-mile Camino de Santiago (or Way of St James) in northern Spain. In vain, she looked for a substantial, engaging book in English about the Camino for her grandchildren. “Well, I’ll write one then. How hard can that be?” Jantzen said. That resolve led to major life change: she sold her home, let go of most earthly goods, and became a nomadic house-sitter in western US states. She worked intermittently on the novel—a truly humbling endeavor. Twice more she returned to the Camino for research.
She published Walk independently in 2020. It’s garnered many five-star reviews. In 2021 Jantzen moved to the Yucatán part-time, continuing to answer the call of adventure. She’s currently mulling over her next big writing project.
Esther remains eager to promote global citizenship—simple travel; tolerance for differences; curiosity about cultures; appreciation of nature and beauty; creativity in arts and sciences; human rights; and most importantly at this time in history—active, bold, multifaceted, unceasing participation in climate solutions.
Walk: Jamie Bacon’s Secret Mission on the Camino de Santiago is available for purchase at Between The Lines bookstore and is part of the library’s permanent lending collection.
