The Road From Coorain

Jill Ker Conway (1989)

Here’s another book I had on my “To Read List” for a long time, so I was glad when my book club chose to read it. This is the autobiography of a woman raised on a remote sheep farm in Australia whose thirst for knowledge and personal growth led her on intellectual pursuits, first in Sydney and then in America. Ker Conway eventually went on to serve as the first female president of Smith College, a position she only recently left.

Her experiences growing up in Australia were so new to me and her writing style so engaging that I found myself completely drawn into this woman’s story.  (Put on your hard hats — incoming cliche…) This book was a real pleasure to read. Really. The second installment of her memoirs, True North, was published this year.