Jason Heppenstall

Ex-newspaper editor Jason Heppenstall, worn down by the constant drumbeat of dire news in the world, decides to set out on a journey in search of some answers. With not much more than some walking boots, a notebook and a wooden staff, he sets off from his old home in Copenhagen with a vague idea to "head north". It isn't long before a series of bizarre coincidences leads him to believe that his journey is being guided towards an ancient lake in Sweden where the Norse god Odin was once worshipped. Along the way he falls foul of the authorities, endures the wettest weather in living memory and meets a peculiar man of the forest who gives him a special gift. He discovers a modern day Sweden caught between a desire to do good in the world and one struggling to come to terms with the refugees from war-torn Syria and beyond. The writers of the two books in his pack become his two travel companions: one - Marcus Aurelius - is a Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher, the other - Bill Plotkin - is a modern-day American soul-quester, and the two of them together act as inner guides on this most unusual journey. A mixture of travel story, meditation, psychedelic adventure and spiritual quest The Path to Odin's Lake ponders the deeper meaning of being alive in a chaotic world and - ultimately - offers a vision of hope.