One of the best books I’ve read. It reads easily and you love the characters. Very informative without being at all depressing. ( )

There is a distinct lack of personal stories of Tibetan refugees, and with the population aging and dying off, it is vital that Yangzom took the time to document her grandmother's and mother's stories in this remarkable book. I will admit that I don't know much about Tibet and the Chinese invasion and occupation, other than the basics. I also don't know much about Tibetan culture and it's unique form of Buddhism, again, other than the basics.

Brauen takes pains to not only tell her family's story, but to explain to the reader Tibetan culture, beliefs, and societal structure. She spent the majority of the book on her grandmother and mother's story, focusing on their life in Tibet, their escape and subsequent life in India, and then in Switzerland. The writing was simplistic, but the story swept me away.

China has written the story of Tibet within its borders as one of liberation and progress, a jingoist picture that I think most outside of China know is false, but it is important that stories such as Across Many Mountains continue to be told, to counteract the Chinese re-interpretation of history. While reading, I came across a few lines in the book that made me pause and reach for a pen to underline it. "I think we have to find a solution that enables the Tibetans and Chinese to live together in such a way that both groups are guaranteed their respective rights and freedoms. Part of this must be a change in the Chinese attitude toward Tibet. The Chinese people know far too little about our culture and history, having for decades been fed a constant diet of misinformation and propaganda." This is key, but will be near impossible in a society as tightly controlled as China, where the government restricts access to information and has proven most adept at brainwashing the current generation of young people, who do not remember Tienanmen Square.

I applaud Brauen and her family for this book, and hope that it can influence some change. Either way, it is an important story that needs to be told. ( )

Thoughts: Ms. Brauen writes of her grandmother, Kunsang's escape from Chinese occupied Tibet in 1959 with her husband and two young daughters. The trek over the Himalayas to reach India was difficult and filled wth heartache. Life in India was not easy either, they were poor, sometimes homeless and not particularly welcome. None the less, through fortitude, hard work and the kindness of strangers they survive. A young student from Switerland changes their lives in a most fortuitous way still despite their new lives they desire to return to Tibet and keep their culture alive and relevant. ( )

Yangzom Brauen's memoir follows the lives of three generations - her grandmother, her mother, and herself - from Tibet to exile. Along the way, she highlights her grandmother's Buddhist faith as a nun, and the plight of Tibet under Chinese rule.

Memoirs can be a powerful way of talking about universal topics, like oppression, faith, family, poverty. I knew very little about Tibet before reading Brauen's family story. The part of the book where she focuses on her grandmother taught me the most about Tibetan society and Buddhism. From there, she moves to their flight and exile in India and focuses on her mother's experiences there. Finally, her section of the book shows their freedom in Switzerland, though because of her activism parts of her portion read less as one individual's experience as a political statement for an autonomous Tibet as she details various protests in which she took part. Sometimes the writing had the slightly uneven sound of a translation. Even so, her story of her family's experiences, trials, and the changes that each generation makes is powerful. ( )

I didn't expect this book to be as compelling as it was. It is the story of Brauen's mother's and grandmother's journey and it is also a story of Tibet's unfinished journey. It is always fascinating to me to read how much people will endure for freedom -- and sad that they must endure anything. It's inspiring to see them prevail. Kunsang and Sonam did indeed endure and prevail. Brauen has taken to heart their stories and is doing what she can to help Tibet to prevail. Her story is part of that journey. It was also interesting to me to see the juxtaposition of Switzerland's and China's political systems, and both of those to the much simpler system of Tibet. ( )