Bypass: the Story of a Road

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‘There is no road to peace. Peace is the road’. To what extent does McGirr find peace on the road? Michael McGirr’s Bypass: The Story of a Road describes the author’s own journey down the Hume in a self-depricating and often witty manner. He finds peace within himself as he reflects upon and makes observations on people past and present who were affected by “Australia’s main street”. McGirr also reflects upon himself; self analyzing his own inner turmoil after leaving the Jesuit as a now ex-priest. His restlessness as a result as a result of identity loss is soon healed as he leaves his previous life behind for a very minimal ‘bare essentials’ life, riding across the Hume on a “cheap Chinese bicyle”. The adventure is just as much a journey across the Highway as it is a journey in a relationship with Jenny, as it is a journey of the spirit to cure restlessness; to “find peace”. His detailed accounts and anecdotes centralize around the themes of self-identity, anti-consumerism, and the embrace of the human condition, towards an ultimate pursuit of happiness. Within the text, the humanitarian philosophies of St Benedict are discussed to great extent. McGirr admires Benedict mostly for his way of “[taking] life in moderation”, how he lived through the lives of others to find happiness. In relation, the Buddhist teachings- “Tao Te Ching”, are noted. Despite leaving the Jesuit, McGirr still believes in selflessness and generosity to find happiness. He views the notion that you need very little physically to be happy. Through even small interpersonal events, he finds “the road to peace” is not a physical destination; it is a state of mind that can be achieved through the experiences that taking life as a journey brings. ‘Wants’, such as excessive jewellery or consumerism in general, will simply “drown [oneself] in [their] own excess”. Both the teachings of

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