“Solitude in the Outback…”

 By Kathryn Lane

Years ago, when I lived in the Outback of Australia, I often found myself alone for weeks at a time at the homestead while the men were in the field catching feral cattle. That solitude gave me time to read the Russian novels by Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Pushkin, and Pasternak to name a few. Dr. Zhivago and The Brothers Karamazov remain favorites to this day.

In my Australian days, I’d visualize the great books I read as a lighthouse that would light up the path of my life. A silly im...