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We were pleased to receive this book review which we thought you might enjoy during this insular time when no travel overseas is allowed. There are many trails in Australia to be explored and this is one of them! EDITOR
The story of Liz Byron’s 2004 nine-month trek along the Bicentennial Trail (BNT) is told in a new book published by Woodslane Press. She walked from Cooktown to Mount Perry with her two donkeys, Grace and Charley. It was a rite of passage to mark leaving 40 years of marriage and embarking on life as a single woman at the age of 61. Liz foresaw that self-reliance, physical stamina and route-finding would be challenges, but couldn’t have known how the outback environment in Queensland was to test her to the limit.
An extended drought had left much of her route a dusty wasteland, without food or water for her animals. Years of suffering from childhood abuse and a family tragedy had left her unwilling to ask for help. Walking became a meditation, an exercise in being in the moment even when that moment was 43 degrees or she hadn’t eaten for 7 hours.
In her moving memoir, Liz reveals how she healed herself step-by-step on the way to her new home in northern NSW – by learning to trust her intuition, the wisdom of her animals and the kindness of strangers.
Illustrated with delightful sketches of the donkeys, the book is available at bookstores and online booksellers (RRP $25), or you can buy it as an ebook. If you are interested in supporting Liz, you can purchase a signed copy at https://lizbyron.com/ for $22 plus $10 shipping.
For details, see Liz’s website https://lizbyron.com/