A Toronto resident is preparing to walk 300 kilometres across the city — one library branch at a time — in honour of her late mother, who died of cancer last year. The idea began many years ago, when Marci Stepak and her mother, Eunice, came across the Toronto Library Passport , a small notebook that lets residents collect stamps from every Toronto Public Library (TPL) branch visited. It was something they talked about doing together, someday. "Her through line was books, libraries, reading and being part of the city," Stepak says, noting her mother was a proud cardholder for more than 50 years. Some of Stepak's earliest childhood memories are rooted in local TPL branches. As a child, she and her mother would visit the York Woods branch every week for storytime and a fresh stack of books. Stepak would settle into the kids' section, reading books about horses while her mother decided on which Agatha Christie novel to read next. Marci Stepak and her mother, Eurice. Photo courtesy of Marci Stepak. When her mother passed away in April 2025 at the age of 88, the plan took on a different shape. Stepak decided she would complete the mission of visiting all 100 TPL branches on her own. Beginning at the Humberwood branch in Etobicoke and ending at the city's largest, the Toronto Reference Library, Stepak plans to cover about 30 kilometres a day. To make the route possible, she'll take transit to the first branch each morning and on her way home each night. "This is a way to keep her alive with me," she says. "It also gives my grief somewhere to go." The walk was originally set to begin April 2, but Stepak chose to push it to April 7 — a significant date as it marks the one-year anniversary of her mother's death. "It's going to be a really emotional day, and I'm expecting a lot of tears,” she says. "There will be a lot of joy, and a lot of sadness at the same time." Since announcing the walk, Stepak has been flooded with messages from community members, librarians, seniors, local businesses and even grief counsellors, who are all moved by her project and what it represents. Losing someone who is so integral to your life has a way of staying with you in everyday life. You get the urge to call, to share something, before you're quickly reminded that you just can't anymore. It's a feeling many of us know all too well. "The worst part of this is every single thing that happens [in my life], the first thing I want to do is call my mom – there's no other way of saying it. I wish she could see it all." Although the walk is a solo venture for her, Stepak says she won't be entirely alone. Friends and family plan to join her along different stretches, and even strangers have reached out to join her for parts of the journey. TPL staff have also rallied around her since she announced her walk. At many branches, librarians are planning to be there when she arrives, offering a warm welcome and a chance to connect. "It really speaks to how the people who make these spaces special are invested in celebrating them too," she says. Marci Stepak at the Toronto Reference Library. Photo by Fareen Karim. Not every library stop will be straightforward. A handful of branches are currently closed, including Centennial and the Junction Triangle location , in which case Stepak will visit nearby pop-up bookmobiles instead. With so much ground to cover, she knows she won't always arrive when doors open every morning. "I've accepted that sometimes I'll just reach a building, take a photo, and keep going," she says. "I'll circle back later for the stamp." The fundraiser tied to her walk will support TPL programming for seniors, particularly initiatives that help combat loneliness. Stepak has set a goal of raising $5,000. Stepak recalls how, as her mother's condition worsened, TPL continued to bring books to her, dropping them off so she could stay connected to reading, even when she couldn't physically make it to a branch. "Reading books is a very individual activity, but the act of the library and sharing books and all that, it's very communal," she says. "I remember, one week before my mom passed, she said, 'Make sure you return my library books, so other people can enjoy them.'"