THINGS BECOME OTHER THINGS A Walking Memoir

Craig Mod moved to Japan at age 19. Now a photographer and essayist in his 40s, he's still there and is an avid walker. Narrating his own work, he recounts his pilgrimage on the Kumano Kodo trail on the Kii Peninsula. At a slow pace, Mod interweaves the daily details of his walk with the history of the pilgrimage; U.S. and Japanese relations; the concept of "yoyu"; thoughts on being an adoptee both in his family and in Japan; and memories of childhood, especially through mental conversations with his childhood best friend, Brian, who was murdered. Mod's voicing can be a bit unmodulated at times, but the pleasure he takes in walking and observing is evident as he describes inns, shrines, and mountain ascetics. S.E.G. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2025]