Book Review No 28: A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley

This was simply the most amazing story on so many levels.

Back in 1986 five year old Saroo made a last minute decision to accompany his older brother on a short train trip to a nearby town in rural India. Although he was supposed to be babysitting his baby sister, Saroo risked his mother's wrath and left his humble home, not realising just what a journey he was about to make. Instructed to wait on the platform by his older brother, young Saroo was scared and confused when his older brother failed to return in the specified time. Deciding to make his own way home he hopped onto a waiting train - a train that would end up taking him half way across the country and far, far away from his family.

Book Review No 27: Cliffy: The Cliff Young Story by Julietta Jameson

Having recently seen the ABC telemovie of the same name, I was eager to read this book when I came across it. 

It's hard to believe it was 30 years ago that a 61 year old potato farmer from Victoria won the heart of the nation when he not only "shuffled" his way from Sydney to Melbourne in Australia's first ultra marathon - but won by a huge margin. Suddenly this shy, unassuming man was thrust into the national spotlight and the legend of Cliff Young was born.

Book Review No 26: Every Parent's Nightmare by Belinda Hawkins

While most Australians will be very familiar with the Chapelle Corby case, very few have probably heard of Jock Palfreeman. Yet Jock is living the same nightmare as Chapelle, he is currently stuck in a foreign prison for a crime he believes he did not commit and has very little hope of being released within the next decade.

Like thousands of other young Australian travellers, Jock set off for his big adventure back in 2006. Not one to stick to the normal tourist trail, Jock preferred to find off the beaten track places to visit, often volunteering and sleeping rough in his efforts to experience another culture. That was how he came to end up in Bulgaria. Having visited the country before, he was keen to head back and visit friends for the Christmas break in 2007. Unfortunately that decision set him on a collision course with an evil crime that left a young man dead.