"An intensely personal, often harrowing, autobiography that traces the arc of a man forged in adversity, duty, and extremes. A story that is part survival memoir, part military expose, and part reflection on what it costs – mentally, physically and morally – to serve in the UK Special Air Service."
The Pilgrim opens with Colin Maclachlan describing his deeply troubled childhood marked by abuse – physical, mental, and sexual – and how, at just fifteen years old, he appeared headed for institutional care. But with thanks to professional interventions, he escapes that apparent inevitability and is granted special permission to join the British Army.
The Pilgrim delivers a raw, emotionally charged memoir that stands apart from the usual genre of military autobiography. While many special forces memoirs focus on operations, tactics, and derring-do, Maclachlan’s book digs deeper, into trauma, survival, and the fragile humanity behind the elite soldier’s mask.
Compared to classics like Andy McNab’s Bravo Two Zero or Chris Ryan’s The One That Got Away, Maclachlan’s tone is more introspective and psychological. Earlier SAS accounts built the public myth of the modern special forces soldier – tough, efficient, and unbreakable. The Pilgrim, by contrast, dismantles that mythology.
It shows a man profoundly shaped by his childhood abuse, mental health struggles, and the moral ambiguities of military service. Where McNab and Ryan wrote largely about external battles, Maclachlan writes about the internal ones.
Maclachlan’s story also carries a distinct authenticity, possibly because trauma in his life began long before the military. Stylistically, the author writes as he speaks. He is honest, sometimes blunt, and occasionally darkly humorous. The narrative moves quickly through key moments: SAS selection, operations alongside Delta Force, his kidnapping in Iraq, and the haunting aftermath of those experiences.
What elevates it beyond sensationalism is his willingness to reveal vulnerability and his later search for faith and meaning (the “pilgrim” of the title is both literal and spiritual).
Many military memoirs glorify endurance; Maclachlan questions what that endurance costs. He writes candidly about the difficulty of returning to civilian life, reconciling past trauma, and finding redemption through openness and service. This makes his book resonate, not just with military readers but with anyone interested in resilience and recovery.
If the book has limitations, they lie in its brevity. Some operational accounts feel truncated; likely I’m aware due to Ministry of Defence constraints and redactions. Readers looking for detailed military analysis or geopolitical commentary will be disappointed but, as a human document, one that traces a man’s journey from abuse to acceptance, it is strikingly effective. The Pilgrim is less about war than about survival.
The Pilgrim is the book the MOD tried to ban. It is a rollercoaster of an autobiography of Colin Maclachlan, known for his appearances on shows like Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins and Channel 5’s Secrets of the SAS.
| Primary Genre | Biographies & Autobiographies |
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The Pilgrim is the book the MOD tried to ban. It is a rollercoaster of an autobiography of Colin Maclachlan, known for his appearances on shows like Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins and Channel 5’s Secrets of the SAS.
The Pilgrim features in the following genres: Biographies & Autobiographies, Military history
Hardback. £22.50, down from the £25.00 cover price. In Stock.
The Pilgrim was written by Colin Maclachlan and published by Pen & Sword Military an imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd
The Pilgrim has 224 pages
£22.50, reduced from £25.00. In Stock.
