Irishwoman Gerdette Rooney has travelled the world solo with her rucksack, camera and hiking boots. With a natural curiosity for other cultures, peoples and ancient rock art, she likes nothing better than to mingle with the locals. She has had many adventures - and mishaps - over the years, normally trying to avoid the more commonplace destinations in search of the ever-elusive tranquillity of mountains and Nature's pristine regions. However, she has sometimes stumbled on troubled places that proved challenging but interesting. Her profession as a radiographer took her to Soweto in South Africa, where she witnessed the injustices of apartheid and she also worked in Iraq during the regime of Saddam Hussein. The collection stems from fifty years of diary-keeping penned in many hostels, doss houses and hammocks.
