BOOK REVIEWS
Life Lessons From The Amazon Pip Stewart 2021 ISBN 978-1-78783-980-9
With a zest for life and a selfdeprecating sense of humour , Pip Stewart was easily convinced to take on a three-month kayaking trip down Guyana ’ s Essequibo River . Yes , we know , this is not a motorcycle adventure , it doesn ’ t matter , Stewart is not a Kayaker either . This is pure adventure , a discovery of the wilds of the Amazon , the cultures , the individuals , and herself .
Challenged with a lack of skills , Stewart joins three other women ( Laura Bingham and Ness Knight ) on this epic adventure and with the help of the Waî Waî people discover a land of contrasts , untouched in areas and raped in others . The contrasts are confronting and have all , even the reader , challenging their place in this world . This is more than a travel memoir , Life Lessons From The Amazon is a self-examination of both author and reader .
Stewart is a professional writer , a journalist , a traveller , and it shows . Life Lessons From The Amazon ’ s prose is compelling , letting the reader slip into the narrative to become a part of the jungle , a part of the adventure , to see herself a little more enlightened something shared with the reader . Life Lessons From The Amazon , not a motorcycle travel memoir yet a book that needs to be added to every traveller ’ s library .
And what did Stewart get from the Amazon ? Much more than just a flesh-eating disease …
Journey Of Charity Michael Davey 2016 ISBN 978-0-64696-395-2
Michael Davey is currently riding a postie bike around Australia for charity , yet 8 years earlier he did the same under his own steam , a pushbike , 14,000 kilometres . Journey Of Charity is the story of that ride .
It ’ s a huge effort and one that needed to be told , something that Davey does well in this memoir . The writing follows the ride in chronological order , point to point , detailing the conditions , the landscapes , and the people . It ’ s an interesting read although at times slows a little too much and perhaps this is the point of describing such a ride .
Davey details a number of the people met along the way , usually chance meetings in pubs or caravan parks , where the exchange often involves donations or lack of . It ’ s interesting but wants for more , as does the intimacy of his personal thoughts , more could ’ ve been explained into how he felt and what the challenge did to his personal being .
Riding around the Australian is a challenge that most of us couldn ’ t contemplate yet through Journey Of Charity we find that anyone could do it with the right mindset and determination . Davey has captured that aspect perfectly as well as describing some of the features of the Australian continent .
Journey Of Charity is a book worthy of inclusion in any library , no it ’ s not motorcycle related , but there is a connection .
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