Women of the Outback: Inspiring true stories of tragedy and triumph by Sue Williams is published on September 1 2008 by Penguin Australia rrp $32.95
I've learnt so much about the achingly distant Outback after travelling around 18,000 kilometres - the equivalent of Sydney to New York - but the most important lesson has been what an amazingly fertile place it is for producing women of courage, daring, resilience, enterprise and stubborn good humour in the face of all the terrible lows and dizzying highs that life hurls at them - Sue Williams.
Drought, flood, harrowing isolation and horrific accidents & the Australian Outback is no place for a lady. But the women of the Outback are a different breed: tough, resilient and endlessly resourceful. They're both the backbone and the heart of Australia, keeping their farms going, their families together and their communities alive - and often against overwhelming odds.
Maree was left with three small daughters when her husband and son were killed in a light plane smash. Molly lived alone in a 1920s homestead in the middle of the Simpson Desert for 20 years without even a phone. Lynnie turned a remote town on the edge of oblivion into a thriving 4WD centre. Alice admits she couldn't even tell a cow from a bull when she first went to live in the Outback.
This book tells the inspiring stories of fourteen remarkable women, from high-achievers to everyday heroes. Their tales are often heartrending and regularly touched by tragedy, but are always life-affirming. They portray Outback Australian women as they really are - and as we all wish we might be.