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Across Many Mountains: A Tibetan Family's Epic Journey From Oppression To Freedom (2011)

by Yangzom Brauen(Favorite Author)

3.86 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0312600135 (ISBN13: 9780312600136)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

St. Martin's Press

review 1: Tibet still remains an isolated and little-known region of the world, even more so now as China continues to suppress news about the ongoing struggle Tibetans have maintaining their culture and self-determination in the face of extreme suppression and oppression. Yangzom Brauen, in her touching and illuminating memoir, tells the story of three generations: Yangzom herself, her mother, and her grandmother - the eponymous three daughters of Tibet. Through her grandmother's biography, Brauen retells the history of pre-Incoporation Tibet and its rich history and Buddhist culture. Brauen does not romanticise pre-1950s Tibet but instead plainly states that the facts and damages caused by the entrenched feudal system and lack of modern development - the lack of medical care and t... morehe forbidden usage of the wheel being most evident. Through the stories of her grandmother and mother, Brauen then moves on to tell the story of Tibet in exile - the flight of the refugees into India, life in the camps, and the struggle to adapt in India. Brauen's own story then continues with life in Switzerland and the modern-day struggle for Tibet's independence. The lives of these women and their struggles to maintain not only their Tibetan heritage but also their cultural identity in a multi-cultural environment is a powerful story and it humanises the struggle Tibetans in the diaspora face when dealing with their own history and culture. It also sheds a personal light on the Chinese destruction and forced assimilation of Tibetan culture - the sections narrating the family's return to Tibet after years away and seeing such great changes is particularly moving.This book, therefore, is particularly engaging to those interested in both China and Tibet, but also those interested in real, human lives - and no story is more compelling than this family's.
review 2: I thought this was a good book. It was a Goodreads first-read. The story starts with the grandmother's experience, switches to her daughter and finishes with the granddaughter. They all connect together throughout. These women all show a lot of determination to make their way in the world. What used to be Tibet has been taken away by Chinese occupation and it is dangerous to live as before. The story has a lot of heart and these women do what they can to keep Tibet's ways alive no matter where they live! less

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