Sky Train: Tibetan Women on the Edge of History Book

I came across a recommendation for this book and I admit being somewhat jaded about it at the onset. The author's experiences led her to conduct a sort of oral history project over many years with the intention of riting a book to document the experiences of Tibetan women especially during the time of the Communist invasion.

I had some notion that this might turn out to be one of those rather syrupy women's studies sorts of books, with a bit of religious tourism as a veneer and a nod to social consciousness.

As I said, a bit jaded.

Fortunately I overcame my misgivings and sat down and read through it. The style was easy to read and did not editorialize overmuch. The author did acknowledge and become a full participant in the book, including her own experiences in collecting the stories, which enhanced the narrative considerably and was a refreshing change from the strict anthropological approach which disingenuously disavows the observer's participation in the facts collected.

The experiences of the women themselves were both wrenching and inspirational. It was not an easy book to read in that respect.

The author's status as a Chinese descendant added particular context to her observations.

This is one of the more personally changing books I have read in the last few years.