Tracks: A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of gender discrimination, racial discrimination, depression, anxiety, violence, and animal death.

“There are some moments in life that are like pivots around which your existence turns—small intuitive flashes, when you know you have done something correct for a change, when you think you are on the right track. I watched a pale dawn streak the cliffs with Day-Glo and realized this was one of them. It was a moment of pure, uncomplicated confidence—and lasted about ten seconds.”

Davidson’s outlook as she enters Alice Springs points to both the positive and negative aspects of her experiences to come. She feels confident in her choice, convinced that she’s doing “something correct for a change.” Yet, as Davidson asserts, this “uncomplicated confidence” is fleeting—an admission that foreshadows the ways her experiences will test her physical, emotional, and mental resolve across her journey.

“I hated myself for my infernal cowardice. It is such a female syndrome, so much the weakness of animals who have always been prey. I had not been aggressive enough or stood up to him enough. And now this impotent, internal, angry stuttering.”

Davidson positions her memoir as a feminist text that argues for the disruption of patriarchal structures and subverting conventional notions of femininity. Davidson feels frustrated with herself for being a coward in the face of Kurt’s abuse because she sees her behavior as a symptom of her social and sexual conditioning. This moment marks a turning point in her self-discovery journey and compels her toward Finding Empowerment Via Independence and Courage.

“It seems ridiculous now, to talk of my growing sense of freedom given the feudal situation I was living in, but anything could be mended, anything forgotten, any doubt withstood during a walk through those timeless boulders, or down that glittering river-bed in the moonlight.”

Davidson’s musings on her time in Alice highlight the Relationship Between Humans and Nature as a central theme in the text. Although Davidson works in a hostile environment suffering near constant emotional abuse, she still perceives the beauty of her surroundings, which keeps her focused on the goals of her journey. Language like “timeless,” “glittering,” and “moonlight” convey the transformative aspects of the natural world and the ways it positively impacts her