Out of Her Backpack

Debbie Fyfe is the reference/Internet resources librarian in the
Information Services Division of the Edmonton Public Library.

This gritty, debut collection of short travel stories by Alberta writer
Laura J. Cutler follows 15 Canadian women as they travel to such
destinations as Peru, India, China, Malaysia, and the Czech Republic.
The stories elicit the sights, tastes, and smells of their exotic
locales. Revealing the decidedly unglamorous reality of budget travel,
the characters are a mixed bag of young, middle-aged, single, and
married women. From trysts in Italian restrooms to camping in Peru, they
do it all. The title story is about a woman who, recently back in Canada
after 19 months of travel, is overwhelmed by a feeling of displacement
and decides that it’s time to get her backpack out again.

Cutler, who has traveled across six continents, has published stories
in several anthologies and was awarded the second prize in the Indigo
Books/Henkell Trocken national short story contest.