You are as powerful as you allow yourself to be

If you like adventure books this is my recommendation, my favorite book ever. In March of 1977, at the age of 27, Robyn Davidson set off on a journey she had been planning for over two years. She embarked on a 1,700-mile trek across the Australian outback from Alice Springs, heading for the West Coast to the Indian Ocean, armed only with four camels, her dog Diggity, and a sponsorship deal with National Geographic.

In the first part of the story the author talks about her training with the camels described in detail. It is fascinating but also struggling because she was treated badly by her two trainers. She overcame a lot of problems since the beginning like to find the money to sponsor her peculiar idea, but her project was clear in her mind and so her determination to accomplish it.

The rest of the book is a memoir of the beautiful and dangerous journey, not only it is a captivating read but her social observations make this book magic and inspiring.

Robyn could spend time with the Aboriginal people and I admire her way to learn from them and to be curious about their culture, she wanted to be integrated. They welcomed her and at some point one of them, Mr. Eddie, shares a part of the path with her
Through the journey an American photographer, Rick Smolan, met her five times to document that epic trip with stunning pictures.

I don’t want to anticipate too many details but this story is amazing and I fell in love with it since the first page. I love her and her resolution, her respect for animals and nature is deep. She is my heroine and I am happy she decided to publish this book because it is a way to dream and travel with the mind.

I would like to conclude with a postscript by Robyn Davidson:

The question I’m most commonly asked is ‘Why’. A more pertinent question might be, why is it that more people don’t attempt to escape the limitations imposed upon them? If Tracks has a message at all, it is that one can be awake to the demand for obedience that seems natural simply because it is familiar. Wherever there is pressure to conform (one person’s conformity is often in the interests of another person’s power), there is a requirement to resist.

Davidson said she felt the trip work magic on her in strange and unexpected ways. ÒWhen there is no one to remind you what societyÕs rules are, and there is nothing to keep you linked to that society, you had better be prepared for some startling changes.Ó (Photo by Rick Smolan/Against All Odds Productions)

Rick Smolan talks about Robyn’s adventure walking almost 1,700 miles across the heart of the Australian Outback.

After the reading you can watch the beautiful movie TRACKS  based on Robyn’s book and produced by the team behind “The Kings Speech. Mia Wasikowska is the leading actress who made a great performance. Highly recommended!