Reputed National Geographic Journalist who wrote travelogues about New Guinea.
She earned a Ph.D. in English, specializing in travel writing.
In the middle of graduate school, she decided to spend a year backpacking around Papua New Guinea, which became the basis of her first book.
Her parents sent her off to boarding school when she was 14, which may have instilled in her the streak of self-reliance that characterizes her life path.
David Livingstone, who was among the first Europeans to explore Africa, also published popular travelogues.
