Heather A. Warfield is a professor, author, and 2022-2023 Fulbright Research Scholar in France. After a career as a mental health therapist, she pursued doctoral studies at North Carolina State University, where she completed her 2013 dissertation on the therapeutic value of pilgrimages. In the decade since, she has delved further into what motivates people to go on pilgrimages, the stories pilgrims share, and the meaning pilgrims create from their journeys. All of this has led to a deeper understanding of the psychological and wellbeing aspects of pilgrimages. Heather has published academic papers and books on these topics as well as has given university lectures, community talks, and keynote speeches. She has been interviewed by media outlets in the US, the Netherlands, Germany, and the UK.

Heather is the series editor of Pilgrimage Studies (Peter Lang Oxford) and the volume editor for Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Pilgrimage: Historical, Current & Future Directions. She has also contributed recent chapters in Pilgrimage as Spiritual Practice A Handbook for Teachers, Wayfarers, and Guides and New Pilgrimage Routes and Trails. Along with her former student Kate Hetherington, she is the co-editor of Pilgrimage as Transformative Process: The Movement from Fractured to Integrated.

For all inquires, contact heather@heatherawarfield.com or click here.