Woman Alone

A Six Month Journey Through the Australian Outback

By: Laine Cunningham (Cover Design by), Angel Leya

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Paperback | 1 November 2016

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184 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
22.86 x 15.24 x 0.99

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For fans of Cheryl Strayed's Wild and Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love.

At twenty-seven, Laine Cunningham seemed to have it all: tons of friends, a college degree, plenty of all-night parties, and a secure job. Yet every morning she dragged herself through a life that was corporatized and overly industrialized, a life that falsely glamorized everything she was supposed to want.

Guided only by a map pulled from an old copy of National Geographic, she camped in the Australian Outback for six months...and she did it alone.

Traveling in a time before Expedia or Travelocity, and without any guidebook or travel guide from Lonely Planet, the trip was never intended to be a vacation. Instead, it was a search for something deeper, something that lay inside. Cheap plane tickets or the cost of the airfare were far less important than the investment Laine made in herself.

The self-guided adventure tour around the country covered nearly 17,000 miles. Hostels were preferred to hotels, and then only when camping under the stars wasn't an option. Otherwise, her best accommodation was the red sand and her only travel guide was her instinct about where on the map to explore next.

Told with warm humor and sparked with suspense, the search revealed a woman's most important discovery: herself.

Laine Cunningham, a three-time recipient of The Hackney Award, writes fiction that takes readers around the world. Her debut novel, The Family Made of Dust, is set in the Australian Outback, while Reparation is a novel of the American Great Plains. She is the editor of Sunspot Literary Journal.

Industry Reviews

REVIEW BY WRITER'S DIGEST EBOOK AWARD JUDGE, JAN 2018

Many people fantasize about getting away from it all a la EAT PRAY LOVE. At the relatively tender age of 27, author Laine Cunningham walked the walk, scrapping her restrictive but high-paying corporate job and seemingly secure lifestyle, camping for six months in the Australian outback.

WOMAN ALONE is the product of that adventure and is a fine addition to the woman on her own category of memoirs. Each short chapter is an unpretentious, entertaining and well-preserved slice of life, whether they be misadventures with Australian cuisine, animal mishaps or the many questionable characters she meets along the way.

Lively, pithy characterizations and descriptions put the reader right on the scene. The Outback is also full of hidden dangers, as she readily acknowledges but has the good sense to mostly avoid. "It would take me ten years to circle back and close out the last of the Outback's lessons," she writes at the end. As a travelogue and as an impetus "to launch you onto your own path," to use the author's words, it succeeds.

REVIEWS OF OTHER WORKS BY LAINE CUNNINGHAM

"Laine Cunningham combines tenacity and courage along with profound insight. Her bravery is contagious. I keep Laine's books on a special shelf in my library, referring to them when I need inspiration." Pamela King Cable, Author, The Sanctum and Televenge

"The fact that Laine Cunningham spent six long months on her own in the Australian outback before writing this book leant a rich authenticity to her voice as she shared from her abundantly full, and talented, heart." Leah Griffith, Author, Cosette's Tribe

"Demonstrates a mastery of psychological introspection and an uncanny feel for the spirit of place." James Jones Literary Society

"Mesmerizing and meaningful and inspiring." Grady Harp, Vine Voice

"An exceptional writer as well as a master storyteller." Edmund R. Shubert, Author and Editor for Tor

"An affirmation of life." Shirley, Goodreads Reviewer

"I thought this book would be a quick read, but I found myself lingering, absorbing the message ... I found this book to be both entertaining and informative, one I will probably reread quite a few times." Dena Harris, Author

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