This episode is brought to you by Slack. With Slack, you can bring all your people and

tools together in one place. It's your digital HQ where you can increase productivity,

enable flexibility and automate workflows. Plus, Slack is full of game-changing features

like huddles for quick check-ins or Slack Connect, which helps you connect with partners

inside and outside of your company. Slack, where the future works. Get started at

Slack.com slash DHQ.

Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need

support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential

support, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website.

As her 21st birthday approached in 2008, Brit Catherine May Lapthorn asked her parents

for just one present. The biggest trouble backpack she could carry. Brit was planning a

solo backpacking trip through Europe for the middle of the year, taking the time off

to explore the world, do a little soul-searching and find inspiration for her future career.

The RMIT University student had been working hard at completing her international business

degree, but was looking forward to spending some time away from the books. After deferring

a semester of her studies, Brit was scheduled to fly out of her home city of Melbourne

Victoria in late June 2008, embarking on a four-month solo backpacking trek that would

take her through multiple countries before returning home to Australia in mid-October.

It came as absolutely no surprise to those who knew Brit Lapthorn that she had itchy feet

and was seeking overseas adventure. Her passport read like an explore-resortobiography, each

step representing a wealth of stories and experiences she had earned around the world. When Brit

was eight years old, her family lived in China, and by age 10, Brit was bartering with locals

...