Over This Backbone

Peta sets out on the Australian Alps Walking Track with a schedule and a list of things she intends to prove. The first day is punishing: a hot wind dries salt onto her skin, her shoulders are already tight, blisters are forming, and her boots don't fit. She refuses to admit the pack is too heavy, since that would confirm what the doubters already believe.

The trail refuses to follow her plan. Wild dogs shadow her, horses nearly trample her, the police track her down, and she faces dehydration and flooding. Between these trials, her memories return to the past year with Ben, a volatile relationship she has been trying to leave. The novel moves back and forth between the walk and those memories, showing how the bond formed, her efforts to free herself, and what followed in the South Australian desert, an experience that both released and broke her.

The book explores what people hide, when 'I'm fine' is a lie, and the belief that suffering alone is a form of strength. The Australian landscape is central throughout, with its heat, its wildness, and its power to unsettle and soothe. It is a story about covering a great distance on foot and about leaving something behind.