Across Many Mountains Summary

Across Many Mountains is memoir of the journey and struggles of three generations of Tibetan women during the Cold War era. The author, Yangzom Brauen, is the granddaughter of the three women and tells the story of the family through the accounts of her mother and grandmother and her own experience. Despite the title, the family not only journeys over mountains, but also travels half the world in pursuit of a better life and spiritually security. The book starts off with the childhood of the grandmother, Kunsang, and her early spiritual life nurtured by her parents. Both her parents later succumb to illness and die leaving the young Kunsang by herself. This does not stop Kunsang from pursuing her faith in Buddhism and she continues her spiritual journey with the help of some nuns until she decides to embark on a physical journey to deepen her faith. Eventually she visits her brother who has become a monk and joins Kunsang on her journey, but now both of them have the goal of meeting Ape Rinpoche, who is a renowned guru. Once meeting with Ape Rinpoche they embark on a journey with him to a small village where, with

Martin later recommended a trip back to Tibet for her memories sake and they did so along with Yangzom. This visit would inspire Sonam to begin a career in the arts in which she woud become world for her unique use of Tibetan culture. The story of the grandmother, mother, and daughter is not the only and perhaps not the most powerful of all the Tibetans, but it most certainly personifies the rugged spirit and ability to overcome demonstrated by the people of Southeast Asia. Through perseverance and faith alone this family endured and conquered the multiple physical, spiritual and cultural barriers that plagued their lives. This feat is something that not many can claim to have overcome with confidence and touches upon the human drive for freedom to an extreme