Many were inspired by Lachlan’s walkabout. A smattering of these reviews are below…
“Lachlan has the Australian bush in his soul. This is part of the Australian character – or is it? These days most of us live in cities, few of our children ever have a real bush experience, and the bush itself is being flattened to meet the cities’ demands. Koalas, black cockatoos, masked owls, coral reefs and giant undersea kelp forests all face extinction unless we change course urgently, now. It can be done. That’s why Lachlan’s message of love of the bush, of wild Australia, is so important – for everyone who pauses long enough to hear it and heed it. For out of love comes respect and out of respect comes protection.”
– Dr. Bob Brown, Environmentalist, Author, Former Leader of the Australian Greens Party
“In many ways this captivating book describes the relationship between the author and his much loved Australian Outback.
In travels rivalling those of Odysseus in extent, the author takes us across the vast expanse of the ancient Australian continent, mixing geological insights, historical background, and personal experiences with vivid descriptions of nature in all its forms – the land masses, the geological formations, the wildlife, the flora, the night sky, the scents, the feelings under foot, the awe inspiring gorges (with Ormiston Gorge being the author’s clear favourite), the swims in the cool water holes – the whole plethora of nature’s offerings.
The key theme of the book being that we should seek physical and psychological replenishment in nature, not in the material world. The author’s experience in the investment banking industry, personally suffering the fall-outs from the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, underline this theme.
Whilst the Australian Outback can be a harsh and forbidding place, often conjuring up fear in people’s minds even when just speaking about it, let alone travelling in it, the author shows us its other, less threatening, and often rawly beautiful aspects.
The author points also to the successes of those early explorers who worked with the Outback rather than against it. Operating light and fast with agility and the capacity to adapt to the environment rather than equipping a large over-burdened expedition and vainly attempting impose their order upon nature. In this the author is perhaps sending a message to the modern world that if we wish to survive as a species we need to cease vainly challenging nature and come to understand that by working with nature, adapting to the natural world rather than trying to impose our will upon it, we will survive and thrive.
Overall, an uplifting and inspiring book casting a net of ideas and insights as wide and challenging
as its subject – the Australian Outback.”
– James Harker-Mortlock, Reviewer, Australian Rural & Regional News
https://arr.news/2021/10/12/review-walkabout-to-wisdom/
“Walkabout to Wisdom is a modern-day odyssey. From the destruction of the World Trade Center and the shock to Lachlan’s life path in its aftermath, to his seeking refuge in the Australian Outback, a life challenged becomes a life regained. We follow Lachlan on his journey across the Australian continent and connect with its unique places. We meet its Aboriginal people, Australian explorers and adventurers, and travellers from around the world. We see its wildlife and share his campfires under the great dome of the night sky. And we follow the evolution of his thinking about what makes us Australian, what really matters in life, and how we need to change our lives if we are to have lives worth living.”
– Darrell Lewis, Author – Beyond the Big Run
“This is a personal journey, physical and spiritual, searching for what makes Australia and how Australia makes Australians. It explores our most powerful and persistent traditions, the bush and Anzac. A foundation story well told, it will interest every Australian.”
– Bill Gammage, Author – The Broken Years
“Lachlan Hughson has a unique way of looking at Australia’s landscape, people, and history. His storytelling draws you in like a campfire on a chilly bush night.”
– Jeff Maynard, Author – The Unseen Anzac
“From the debris of the World Trade Center and a young man’s shattered aspirations comes a story of ‘liberation’ and the power of going walkabout. From the sandy deserts, wrinkled plains, and ancient ranges of Outback Australia, Lachlan’s insightful journey captures the monumental tectonic wanderings of the Australian continent and the many secrets its antiquity holds. Lachlan’s realisation that our traditional view of humanity as a pinnacle of evolution, and the glittering star atop a ‘Christmas tree of life’, is just a load of anthropocentric nonsense, came to him as mine did – after a similar journey during which time I changed my view of life and reassessed my place within the planet’s biota. I highly recommend Walkabout to Wisdom for this insight alone.”
– Reg Morrison, Author – Australia: Land Beyond Time
“Walkabout to Wisdom by Lachlan Hughson arrived in a particularly busy part of my year. With my new album completed and awaiting release, and a promotional and performance tour being pieced together, I was feeling that even the margins of my day were packed with high priority to-dos. And yet, I said yes to the request for a review. There was something in the title of this work by, to me, an unknown author, that drew me in. Upon receipt of the manuscript, I skimmed a few chapters and discovered thought pathways that I have been ambling down myself over the last months – and how my travelling life songwriting, recording, and performing was akin to Lachlan’s ‘walkabout’ but with one major difference – I know these places he tells us about – I have travelled over, through, and around them en route to many destinations and audiences, but rarely have I paused, listened, lay on the ground, and communed with Nature in the way he has… Needless to say, I ended up finding an extra half hour at the close of each day to follow his ‘walkabout’ – confirming how timely it was for me to receive this wisdom. So, thanks to Lachlan, I am now committed to and am planning my own adventure that reconnects me to the great mystery and wisdom of this magnificent force we call Nature. See you on the road – or maybe not – I’ll be where Nature leads me and three could well be a crowd.”
– Graeme Connors, Australian Country Music Songwriter, Recording and Performing Artist
“Walkabout to Wisdom is a memoir with travel/inspirational themes and it will take its readers on a moving journey that will stay in readers’ minds for a long time. I have read many travel memoirs but Walkabout to Wisdom stands out to me thanks to the wealth of wisdom, heart, and soul laced throughout this book and has made me fall even more in love with this genre. This is all thanks to the incredible author and narrator, Lachlan Hughson, who flawlessly compels his readers from start to finish, so if you are a reader who loves to get lost in memoirs, then Walkabout to Wisdom is the read for you! However, if you need more convincing then continue to read to learn more about the incredible Walkabout to Wisdom!
Walkabout to Wisdom: Awakening to Nature’s Teaching in the Australian Outback is a moving, charming, and captivating story about one man’s walkabout in the Australian Outback for two years. The reader will be introduced to Lachlan Hughson, the narrator, and writer of this book and in his book, he shares the journey he took throughout the Australian Outback. In Walkabout to Wisdom, the reader will learn that Lachlan left his investment banking career in New York, after the 911 attack, and returned to the outback. Lachlan then embarked on a two-year journey and along the way, connected with nature, learned valuable life lessons, and gained a huge amount of wisdom, all of which he shares with us. The result is a captivating memoir that will transfix and inspire readers to take their own adventure, whether it be big or small, and this book lovers is the premise of the incredible Walkabout to Wisdom!
Memoirs with travel themes are some of my favorite books to get lost in and I can happily write that Walkabout to Wisdom is one of my favorite travel memoirs. This is thanks to how open Lachlan Hughson was in his book, he so perfectly transported me to the Australian Outback with him and took me on a moving, transformative, and entertaining journey like no other. It is rare for me to feel this way about a travel memoir so already I have to applaud the incredible author for being able to do this! And I am sure he will be able to do the same with you lovely readers too.
Lachlan Hughson’s journey is incredibly inspirational and I am in awe of him sharing his story with us readers and being so open and honest. Stories like Lachlan’s are meant to be shared and he does this perfectly that will inspire, motivate, and charm you from start to finish. Lachlan flawlessly narrates his journey in a brazen, inspiring, and honest way and it will captivate readers of all ages as everybody can learn something from Lachlan’s journey.
Walkabout to Wisdom is also a profound book that will make readers feel a host of different emotions, thanks to Lachlan’s ability to provoke readers’ thoughts and feelings and make them question their own life and own journey. That is why I truly adore this book as it makes you think as well as entertain and captivate you from start to finish. As I read Walkabout to Wisdom I found myself turning the pages with haste thanks to the addictive nature and how invested I was in Lachlan’s story and that is how great memoirs are written, book lovers.
Overall, Walkabout to Wisdom is a sensational, memorable, and stunning piece of nonfiction that every reader should have a read of thanks to the life lessons, captivating story and moving literature. That is why I, of course, have to award this book five stars! So be sure to have a read of the preview below book lovers, you won’t regret it!”
Aimee – Red Headed Book Lover
“Walkabout to Wisdom is an adventurous work of non-fiction and travel writing penned by author Lachlan Hughson, which in its own words strives to explain the ‘Awakening to Nature’s Teaching in the Australian Outback’. In a chaotic and often selfish world, Hughson describes the soul-searching journey of the traditional Australian walkabout method but also uses this platform to illuminate the importance of listening to Nature in this age of climate change and planetary destruction by human hands. As a city resident at the time of the September 11 attacks in New York City, Hughson’s incredible two-year exploration of the Outback has much to teach and inspire readers.
Voices in climate change debate so often come from scientific and political backgrounds, so it was truly delightful to see a new narrative coming from an interesting and more relatable perspective. After living in New York City for seven years, author Lachlan Hughson returns to Australia with the desire to awaken his own awareness of Nature and its teachings. What results is a well written and sensitively designed work that educates, inspires, but also sends an important warning about ignoring and abusing the natural world for our own benefits. There is both realistic heart and academic wisdom in the writing, with almost spiritual insights that readers can connect with intimately to understand the many messages Nature’s voice can teach. Overall, Walkabout to Wisdom is a very well-presented and well-written work, one which all followers of the concrete rat race should stop and read.”
K.C. Finn – Readers’ Favorite
