Elizabeth and Ray meet in high school and instantly know they belong together. Despite opposition from her parents, when Ray gets a job in Sydney, Elizabeth jumps out her bedroom window to join him. She’ll always remember the sense of freedom as the‘lovebirds’ flew through the night on Ray’s motorbike to begin a new life.

Elizabeth is now in her 60s and is lonely with only her unbelievably clever and talkative budgie, Eric, for company. Eric provides light humour with his well-chosen comments and his intuitive responses to events.

Ray left Elizabeth 30 years ago to live in isolation after his Vietnam service gave him extreme post-traumatic stress. Elizabeth had become estranged from her two married sons when Ginny, her best friend of 50 years, died, leaving Elizabeth feeling shelved.

Ginny left a letter for Elizabeth before her death exhorting her to find Ray and close that chapter. So she sets off on a road trip with Eric (of course) in his cage and her 15 year-old grandson, Zach, a most unlikely companion, who is getting in trouble with the law.

Searching for Ray in the wild forests of northern NSW, they acquire the company of colourful characters who make the journey arduous but entertaining, and Elizabeth and Zach find out things about Ray and each other that could transform their lives.

Lovebirds bubbles along with plenty of action and snappy dialogue giving insights into the heartbreak and joys of family life as they struggle with issues of cultural differences, post-traumatic stresses, and failures in the youth justice system.

Reviewed by Judith Grace