Jean-Christophe Rufin meant to keep quiet about his project and didn’t foresee writing about it afterwards. But upon his return from his 4-month pilgrimage to Santiago de Compestela, the bestselling author felt the need to share his emotional and transformative journey.

Asceticism, frugality, starkness, solitude and slowness forced Rufin to dive deep inside himself, to observe his flaws and vulnerabilities, allowing the essential to reveal itself.

The essential of his life; the essential of life full stop. This led to the publication of his book Immortelle randonnée which was published by Guérin in France in 2013 and then around the world. With that experience as his starting point, journalist Denis Lafay asks Rufin questions about varied topics of timeless and universal value.

Jean-Christophe Rufin is a doctor, author and French dipolomatic who is a member of the Académie française and winner of the Goncourt Prize.

Denis Lafay is a journalist for La Tribune.

Pascal Lemaître is an illustrator for books and international media.