On October 9, the last meeting was held at Chili's to discuss
Marsha's book entitled "Tracks" by Robyn Davidson.
The members in attendance were Marsha, Sarah, Nancy, Madeleine,
Janet and Nettie. We had all read the book.
This was a memoir of a 27 year old Australian woman who
embarks on a 1700 mile solo trek from Alice Springs to the
Indian Ocean. She has $6 and a suitcase of inappropriate clothing and
a loyal dog named Diggity.
It takes almost 2 years for her to afford the camels and get them
trained which we learned was no easy task. Many readers found that part
a little tiring but finally she embarks with the help of funding from
National Geographic Magazine. The trip takes 7 months and along the
way she encounters many travails and people. She learns to appreciate
the Aborigines and their culture. We also learns a lot about this vanishing
culture and their unjust treatment by the Australian government.
We learned more than we needed to know about camels.
Although this trip was about soul searching we felt that it was not
easy to bond with Robyn and sometimes she was even perceived as
a a crazy lady. However, we all had to admit she had courage and bravery
beyond any of our imaginations and that solo travel would not be our thing.
We felt that the descriptions of the sometimes beauty of the desert would be
worth seeing in the just released movie.
The point was brought up that since she wrote the book 2 years after the
journey that maybe she may not have remembered it as it truly was.
I chose a book called "A Walk Across the Sun" by Corban Addison which is
an International best seller that I really enjoyed.
November 12, was chosen for the next meeting.
Happy Reading!
