Head back in time to the 1970s for a novel that is based on a true story

book cover of the novel OFF TRACK for the website Bush Telegraph XPress
photo by Malcolm Cross

When life goes

OFF TRACK

That first summer, Lucy never imagined that she would wind up in the back of a panel van with the infamous Scotchie! Nor did she expect that life would turn out the way it eventually did, for either of them.

Lucy tells us her story of living and loving during the 1970s in Australia. It’s full of wonderful times: - sunbaking for hours on the beach, dancing to vinyl records, demonstrating against the Vietnam War and making love in the panel van . . . but there’s also some tragedy.

This is a novel about how life, and love, went completely OFF TRACK.

Readers' Reviews

"I loved reading 'Off Track'. I became instantly immersed in the story and couldn't put it down. I needed to find out what happened. It's also really easy to read. I enjoyed how it's set in familiar places - Shoreham, Eltham and Prahran, and loved the wild, rebellious spirit of the main character. I highly recommend this remarkable book!"
Julie Gillespie, Seaford
"Liezl Shnookal's book is a great story - full of reminiscences of the 1970s, with references to bands and songs, places and issues that were integral to the time. The uncertainty and awkwardness of first love is sensitively explored, as is the complexity of mental illness."
Patrick Vaughan, St Andrews
"'Off Track' takes the reader on a journey of friendship as the group attempts to hang together. I felt the teenage and adult voice of the narrator was strikingly authentic. I think that the different threads of the story, such as family, friendship and mental health, will resonate with individual readers as they reflect on their own life journey."
Jill Chan, North Eltham
"I was really moved by this book. It has a gentle and unpretentious tone; it was compassionate and quietly insightful. It rang very true, moving lightly through the golden and careless timelessness of youth and to the profounder understanding of life."
Ann Birrell, St Kilda West
"An Australian version of 'The Catcher in the Rye'! Everybody should read this book!"
Ros Addison, St Andrews
"This is the book that took me back. The loves and the losses. I was truly moved by this great story."
John Doyle, Hurstbridge
"I thoroughly recommend 'Off Track' for young and old alike."
Spencer Field, Healesville
"This is a novel of great compassion and insight into the human condition. I highly recommend this book."
Viv Derwent, Smiths Gully

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