ACROSS MANY MOUNTAINS: A Tibetan Family's Epic Journey From Oppression To Freedom

A powerful, emotional memoir and an extraordinary portrait of three generations of Tibetan women whose lives are forever changed when Chairman MaoÆs Red Army crushes Tibetan independence, sending a young mother and her six-year-old daughter on a treacherous journey across the snowy Himalayas toward freedomKunsang thought she would never leave Tibet. One of the country's youngest Buddhist nuns, she grew up in a remote mountain village where, as a teenager, she entered the local nunnery. Though simple, Kunsang's life gave her all she needed: a oneness with nature andáa sense of the spiritual in all things. She married a monk, had two children, and lived in peace and prayer. But not for long. There was a saying in Tibet: 'When the iron bird flies and horses run on wheels, the Tibetan people will be scattered like ants across the face of the earth.' The Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950 changed everything. When soldiers arrived at her mountain monastery, destroying everything in their path, Kunsang and her family fled across the Himalayas only toáspend years in Indian refugee camps. She lost botháher husband and her youngest child on that journey, but theáfuture held an extraordinary turn of events that would forever change her life--the arrival in the refugee camps of a cultured young Swiss man long fascinated with Tibet. Martin Brauen will fall instantly in love witháKunsang's young daughter, Sonam, eventually winning her heart and hand, and takingámother andádaughteráwith him to Switzerland, where Yangzom will be born. Many stories lie hidden until the right person arrives to tell them. In rescuing the story of her now 90-year-old inspirational grandmother and her mother, Yangzom Brauen has given us a book full of love, courage, and triumph,as well as allowingáus a rare and vivid glimpse of life in rural Tibet before the arrival of the Chinese.áMost importantly, though,áACROSS MANY MOUNTAINS is a testament to three strong, determined women whoáare linkedáby an unbreakable family bond.áá