This collection of stories takes us around the world through time and space, and to some places that don't really exist.Solitude can restore us, enabling us to connect with nature and beyond. But when solitude disconnects us from family or community, we need courage. These stories explore experiences of aloneness and will take readers through the landscapes of southeastern Australia, with glimpses of Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. There you will meet women, children and old soldiers, a ghost, a murderer and some cats.Dorothy Williams of Melbourne, Australia, has published books on local history, junior novels, poetry and short fiction, and has also written many articles over the past 20 years. She grew up a solitary child and her earliest friends were characters from the classics, including those created by Kipling, Alcott and Dickens. A retired teacher, Williams has "learned the vast difference between the beauty of solitude and the loneliness in a crowd that comes of damaged relationships."