"I arrived in the Alice at five a.m. with a dog, six dollars
and a small suitcase full of inappropriate clothes."
One woman, four camels, a dog named Diggity and a 1700 mile trek across the Australian outback. Robyn Davidson's Tracks is one of my all-time favorite travel/memoir/adventure books. With four stubborn, sassy and mischievous camels, Davidson travels from Alice Springs across the vast and forbidding Gibson Desert to the western coast of Australia ... alone. It's a crazy, poignant and brave journey. Her funny mishaps with the camels always make me laugh, but it's the inward journey she makes along the way--that hard-earned discovery of truth and self--that I remember most. This is a thoughtful and empowering book.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes from this amazing book:
"The two important things that I did learn were that you are as powerful and strong as you allow yourself to be, and that the most difficult part of any endeavor is taking the first step, making the first decision."
"To be free is to learn, to test yourself constantly, to gamble. It is not safe. I had learnt to use my fears as stepping stones rather than stumbling blocks, and best of all I had learnt to laugh."
Happy Reading!
I haven't read many travelogues in recent years -- this one sounds great -- love the setting, and the quotes you've shared.
ReplyDeleteThanks. It's an amazing book...and not super long, so it ends up being a pretty quick read.
DeleteI love this book! The quotes you chose make me want to re-read it. This is one of my favorite travel memoirs.
ReplyDeleteWe are as powerful (and confident) as we allow ourselves to be...I quite agree. Sometimes it's hard to summon those feelings, but it's good to be reminded to call on them.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely easier said than done...but when done? That's when amazing things can happen.
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