LAWYER OFF TRACK

Sometimes something happens in life that we haven't quite planned. We may feel it as unrest. A feeling that something is not right anymore. That we have outgrown our old shoes, even if they look nice from the outside. Some do something about it. Others are pushed. Morten is one of those who are pushed. He is a lawyer. Successful, well-dressed, lives in Holmenkollen and has what on paper looks like a perfect life. But under the surface, something is not right. The migraine attacks come more often. His mood is at rock bottom. And life feels more like a role than something he actually lives. When his wife also doesn't quite stick to her marriage vows, the cracks start to become hard to ignore. So what do you do then? Well, you go on a pilgrimage, of course. Or… you are persuaded to do it by a friend, which is essentially the same thing.

What starts as an attempt to escape from life eventually becomes something completely different. Sore feet. Sore muscles. An even more sore ego. And an emotional register that goes from frustration to insight, from resistance to something resembling freedom. Because something happens to a person when they walk. Not just physically, but mentally. The layers begin to fall, and thoughts become clearer. And what you have spent a long time avoiding suddenly has a lot of time to catch up with you.

Morten eventually discovers that it is not life he is trying to escape from. It is himself. And that is a bit impractical, since he is along for the whole journey.

Lawyer off track is a story about change. About losing control a little. About meeting oneself, preferably with a little resistance and a good dose of humour along the way. Because sometimes life has to tear us out of our comfort zone a little before we even begin to live.

The book is in Norwegian and English and can be ordered through the bookstore's online store.