A Purposeful Path : How Far Can You Go with $30, a Bus Ticket, and a Dream?

Lewis and Clark did it. Jack Kerouac did too. So did Forrest Gump. They are wanderers and wonderers, explorers of life, setting out to see what they can find in the world, in others, and most importantly, in themselves. It might be daunting and surely difficult but for Jesuit Novice, Casey Beaumier, $30 in cash, a one-way bus ticket, and a dream were enough.
 
In A Purposeful Path, Casey Beaumier, SJ, shares his story of how a begging pilgrimage helped him discern his direction in life, and encourages other young people to discover their own purpose by embracing, of all things, vulnerability. Tag along as Beaumier finds himself cold, hungry, and tired along the Appalachian Trail, reliant only on the kindness of strangers and his faith to make it through in one piece. Laugh, cry, and cringe with Beaumier as he nervously makes his way through the once-in-a-lifetime holiday dinner with a literary legend. See through his eyes as he navigates the streets and culture of New York City, and beyond. Through it all, Beaumier discovers that the best way through life’s hard battles is to trust God and keep on moving.
 
Part modern travel adventure, part memoir of finding one’s true calling, A Purposeful Path invites young adults to actively seek out their own trails, going out to explore the unknown in themselves, and learn that by being honest and open with God, others, and themselves, a true life’s calling awaits.

Casey Beaumier, SJ, is director of the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies at Boston College, the school from which he received his Ph.D. in United States religious history. He lives in Fenwick Hall, where he serves as mentor and spiritual director for students, seminarians, women religious, and priests.