Author, actor, and world traveler Darling offers a dynamic chronicle depicting his years walking thousands of miles in his native New Zealand and across the globe, sharing his understanding of the biblical Gospel of Mark. The choice to do so began in 2000, as he emerged from an astral dream with the words “Do Mark” resonating through his spirit. Taking this as an order, his diligent study and dramatizing of Mark’s words became his innovative template. And there was another call for Darling, who was then in his mid-fifties: he was to walk from venue to venue. His first foray was forty-two kilometers, while the second was an astounding nine-hundred and fifty. One episode illustrates the success of his inner calling: on the second visit to a prison in Ohio, Darling met a prisoner who had observed his presentation on the first occasion during a raging snowstorm. The man avowed to Darling that, “You saved my life,” declaring that he had seen “a light” despite the darkened skies outside.

Darling’s skills as a writer/journalist are clear in this day-by-day, mile-by-mile recounting of his unique spiritually guided inner calling. He is modest regarding his abilities while dedicated to sharing his Christian faith with readers and his varied experiences of trekking vast distances to reach his spectators. As with all travel, there were many unknowns, and for an actor—clad in a plain brown robe tied at the waist with a rope and relying heavily on scripture for his presentations—there were bound to be miraculous discoveries and many rewards. The author’s detailed memories and the broader understanding that accompanies them are arrayed with honesty and pleasant humor. Darling’s work will doubtless inspire others to talk and walk as he has done, impelled always by a higher purpose.

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