The Reverend Sandy Brown

Sandy Brown is one of the world’s most prolific and trusted pilgrimage guidebook authors. After reading ‘The Pilgrimage’, by Paolo Coelho in 1992, Sandy planned his 2008 trek on the Camino de Santiago and since then has walked or biked over 14,000 kilometers on pilgrim trails in Europe and the US. He earned his undergraduate degree in medieval history at the University of Washington in Seattle, his MDiv at Garrett Theological Seminary, which honored him in 2005 as Distinguished Alumnus, and his doctorate from Princeton Theological Seminary in gender, sexuality and spirituality. He was executive director of the Church Council of Greater Seattle and served as senior pastor of Seattle’s historic First United Methodist Church. Sandy’s books include Walking the Way of St Francis: From Florence to Assisi and Rome (2015, 2017, 2019), Walking the Camino de Santiago: Camino Francés (2020, 2022), Walking the Via Francigena, Part 1: Canterbury to Lausanne (2023), Walking the Via Francigena, Part 2: Lausanne to Lucca (2021), Walking the Via Francigena, Part 3: Lucca to Rome (2021), and Walking and Cycling the California Missions Trail: From Sonoma to San Diego (2023). With his sister and son, Sandy owns Pilgrim Paths, a boutique travel business that specializes in custom, self-guided and group pilgrimage trekking adventures. When he’s not walking he enjoys yoga, sailing and piano. He spends time with his wife, Theresa Elliot, at their homes in Seattle, Washington, and Lucca, Italy.