Australian Women Can Walk: Gap Year 1979 India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal

In 1979, 22-year-old Veronica Caven flew from Melbourne with two friends from art school for a gap year adventure. They planned to travel across Asia, perhaps to Europe, but had no firm itinerary. After six weeks, Veronica and her friends separated, but she carried on, exploring India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal on her own. The diary she kept during this transformative time has been adapted into Australian Women Can Walk.

Set during the final days of the hippie trail, this is a story of resilience and self-discovery with side dishes of naivety, anxiety, risk, grit, romance and humour. From relaxing on a houseboat in Kashmir, to an intense trek up a Himalayan glacier, to a pilgrimage to the yoga capital of the world, to checking out the scene on Freak Street in Kathmandu, Veronica's travels introduce her to many wondrous sights and interesting people. And the young woman who began her journey as a sheltered student with no shortage of existential questions grows in confidence and courage as she experiences life in one of the most challenging yet rewarding and varied environments on earth.

With some of the author's photographs and sketches included, Australian Women Can Walk offers an immersive experience of an extraordinary place and time. At this present time in history, we now find ourselves in great need of inspiration, renewal, and meaningful connections. There are so many beautiful places and people in the world, and this book reminds us of it.

Veronica Caven Aldous is an artist and writer based in Melbourne, Australia. In addition to this memoir, her writing experience includes graduate and postgraduate research, media releases and essays for her art practice, and articles for a feminist art magazine. She has been a teacher of Transcendental Meditation since 1983 and has a long-standing interest in Vedic literature. Veronica has visited and worked in India many times since 1979. Her most recent trip was to consider links between Vastu architecture and her practice-led studio art PhD in 2011. More at:

veronicacavenaldous.com