“I didn’t realize how important it was for me as a pilgrim to talk about my experiences and to think about how they fit into my life story.”

“I think your work is important as it is preserving a fascinating aspect of the Great War experience in the US that is little known. The remarkable impact of the war on the US and that generation of families has been sidelined to a certain extent by the scholarship on the war itself and the Great Depression.”

“The discussion was wide-ranging and helped inspire thoughts for future research, especially in relation to labyrinths.”

“It’s given me lots of food for thought for future research, including considering how pilgrimages differed across battle fronts, time periods and how these intersect with memory studies.”

“I think it made me consider the different ways the word “pilgrimage” can be used to describe such trips. I really found it thought-provoking to consider how a pilgrimage can take different forms to different groups, and how there isn’t one right way to conduct a pilgrimage.”

“I think the discussion required me to think about which parts of my work relate more directly to pilgrimage, or could be reframed that way, and which parts do not/cannot. It honestly made me think I should engage pilgrimage conversations more, and I’ve meant to ask you since then what some good entry points might be.”

“It made me feel I needed to go into my own space more to discover who I am really becoming as a pilgrim, as a constantly evolving self.”