"[3] Walker told Time Out, "There are many reasons why I wrote the book; one of them is because I think that the kind of quiet, everyday heroism of people like her, who try and change their situation and succeed or fail to whatever degree, is largely unsung.

"[2] Pilgrim State is a memoir of Walker's childhood from 1951 to the early 1960s, and details her mother Dorothy Brown's experiences with mental illness, their relationship, and how the family was treated by the social services.

[5] Louise Carpenter of The Guardian called it "a tragic story about one woman's battle with the social services and how they treated her 'problem family'.

"[5] John Harris of The Guardian called it a "story of her mother's mental illness and her family's grim treatment at the hands of social services.

"[7] Summer Pervez of The Literary London Journal said, "In Pilgrim State, Walker successfully recreates her mother's life in homage to the remarkable woman that she was, despite facing obstacles of prejudice and loss across three continents.