Canby to Camino: Author explores loss, healing in memoir writing

By Jules Rogers, The Canby Chronicle

After losing both her parents and facing the impending loss of a close friend, Canby author Deb Harman set out on a 500-mile pilgrimage across Spain in search of healing.

Harman, author of Love and Loss in Cambodia, is working on her second memoir about her journeys to Spain and Portugal.

 “The book is about coming to terms with loss, but also it looks at long-distance walking as a form of therapy,” Harman said. "When I was walking Camino, it was with the idea that maybe I could walk off some of the depression that I felt over losing both my parents."

The new nonfiction is slated for release sometime in 2027 and explores her experiences walking the Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St. James, which is a network of ancient pilgrim routes that converge at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain.

“Spirituality is a factor in all my work,” Harman said. “I pay attention to what calls my interest, and I am a person who loves the feeling of being in nature. Nature speaks to me.”

Harman said she has walked the Camino de Santiago four times. On her first pilgrimage, she walked about 500 miles from southern France to Santiago de Compostela.

"It was always emphasized to me when I was growing up that travel opens your eyes in the same way that education does,” Harman said. "Part of that is because I had a very adventurous father, and I just followed in his footsteps."

Harman said the journey was also influenced by a close friend who was receiving hospice care at the time. 

"She encouraged me to go on Camino," Harman said. "I said I'm not sure I should go. And she said, 'No, you've got to go. Then you've got to call me and let me know how things are going.'"

Travel has been a lifelong passion for Harman, who said she has backpacked throughout Southeast Asia, traveled extensively in Europe, walked Scotland's West Highland Way, and is currently planning a future trip to Morocco.

Harman said her upcoming memoir grew out of dozens of essays she had previously written about her Camino experiences, which she later organized into a larger narrative.

Her debut memoir, published in 2019 and available online and at bookstores now, explores personal tragedies and loss during political turbulence against the backdrop of Cambodia, filled with themes of resilience.

“I worked hard on it for a few years, and was highly motivated,” Harman said. “Some days I worked for 10-12 hours.”

Harman lived in Cambodia for several years from 1994-2001, where she operated a brick-and-mortar publishing company with her partner. Today, she writes, edits, and publishes essays through several publications on the online writing platform Medium, and has hundreds of other published stories and articles in online publications and anthologies.

Harman was raised in Canby, attending schools up through high school before earning her advanced degrees from the University of Oregon and Portland State University. She later returned to Canby to become an English teacher at the high school for 12 years.

Although her books explore destinations thousands of miles away, Harman said many of her stories are rooted in experiences closer to home.

“I love my community,” Harman said. “Because I'm out here in the country, surrounded by absolutely stunningly beautiful nature, I think there's always something that can be written about. You don't need to live in a big, exciting city to have big, exciting things to write about."

Harman's memoir is expected to be released in 2027. She also performs locally with The Jesse James Band, which is scheduled to perform at the Clackamas County Fair on August 19.