The Pilgrim by Dennis Bieker is a coming-of-age, autobiographical book about a young man, Dennis, during the late 1960s. Dennis and his father leave Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for better opportunities in Florida with his Uncle Sal. The pair are to be followed later on by Dennis’s mother. Dennis, aged eighteen, works construction during the day and by night he socializes with members of the counter-culture. Driven by a desire to be a musician, Dennis fights with the usual fears of a youth at the time, namely, the draft. Along the way, he forms a romantic connection with a girl named Joanne. On a trip back home for his sister’s wedding, Dennis realizes his love for music outshines any romantic relationship. Will Dennis fulfil his dreams and move to Nashville?

Mr. Bieker does something rather unique with The Pilgrim. He manages to tell a story based solely on the perspective of his main character, himself. I could relate to the conflict of deciding where you want to go in life. My only criticism is I wish the story continued long after the last page. I felt Mr. Bieker could have continued on for several chapters. Although we find out what happened to the other characters, I never got a real sense of what happened to Dennis and that was very disappointing. I know that when writing an autobiography, one can only go as far as their knowledge allows, so I still give this book high praise. I particularly liked the hippie, Sunshine, and the construction foreman, Reed. The Pilgrim is a different way to look at life during the 1960s.

The sixties is a timeless era in American history. Certainly it has not aged, if only while reading about it, to become better over time as with any delectable vintage. Dennis Bieker's novella, The Pilgrim, is a coming-of-age story featuring eighteen-year-old Dennis, nicknamed Danny. Dennis leaves his hometown, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for sunny south Florida with his relapsing alcoholic father to join the burgeoning construction industry. Although he befriends several people once there, he shortly realizes that he is set to follow a different path to that crowd of continual carousers who live only for the present, in order to pursue a professional musical career in Nashville as a country artist.

Dennis Bieker renders, however brief, a potent and concentrated vision of America in 1969 when, like Dennis, the nation also remains in an uncertain limbo for a time, and consists of peripatetic wanderers and vagabonds. Indeed, for this reason, I would have preferred if The Pilgrim were expanded and continued to include more of Dennis's Kerouacian adventures in Nashville. Bieker composes a satisfying and worthy account of his own life as an eighteen-year-old during the Vietnam War, one who resembles all of us making our own pilgrimage through life. That is, as we face a crossroads we must have the courage to make the difficult decision of starting a new life in a new city until we find home. For those making long journeys this year, The Pilgrim is a commendable companion, especially for those who seek encouragement to simply live fully in and as a part of this world.