"Across Many Mountains"

"Across Many Mountains" is a memoir written by Yangzom Brauen about her Tibetan grandparents and her mother's "epic journey from Oppression to Freedom."  At first when the Chinese took over Tibet, they tolerated the country's traditions but eventually they were determined to stamp out all vestiges of the Tibetan culture and their religion.

Yangzom's grandmother, Kunsang, was a Buddhist nun who married a Buddhist monk, Tsering, and they decided to flee across the mountains with their two young daughters.  They knew the Dalai Lama was in India and they wanted to take refuge there also.

Yangzom gives us background about both her grandparents but there is much more detail about her grandmother's younger life.  Living in a monastery the young couple nor their children had a lot and depended on the gifts of others to sustain them.  Perhaps it was this ability to make do with so little that helped them survive the very difficult journey across the mountains while evading Chinese soldiers.

However, their hardships didn't end there because there were many Tibetan refugees and finding a way to support their family and live in India was a challenge especially as family members became ill.  Tsering soon became too ill to help support his family so it fell to Yangzom and her oldest daughter, Sonam, who was but a child herself, to earn a subsistence living for the family.  Sonam longed to go to school and have a life like the girls she saw around her in India.

Yangzom shares how Kunsang's early years as a nun and pupil of Abe Rinpoche and the time she spent in contemplation and maturation "gave her the serenity that made everyday problems seem unimportant."  She always looked for the good in others.

Good fortune seemed to follow the family at times - like when they missed a train because of Tsering's illness.  They later learned that the Tibetans that were resettled in another area that the Indian government had set aside for them did not fare well.  Many died in the inhospitable jungle where they were settled.

Yangzom felt she needed to be near hospitals for Tsering to receive the care he often needed and eventually she found work with a group called "Save The Children" who were caring for orphans.  They provided lodging and food for her and Sonam as well as a small salary but both of them also worked very hard.  Eventually, though, Sonam realized her dream of an education when she was allowed to attend a boarding school.

After Tsering's death many men took an interest in Sonam and wanted to marry her but both she and her mother felt she was too young for marriage despite the fact that she might have been married that young if they had still been in Tibet.  Although Yangzom was very traditional in her Buddhist beliefs, she had no difficulty encouraging Sonam's desire to wait for marriage.

Eventually a young Swiss man, Martin Brauen, who was studying at a nearby university met and fell in love almost immediately with Sonam.  There were many obstacles to his winning her hand but he first won her mother over.  Then came the obstacles of their marrying and he getting both Sonam and her mother into Switzerland.  Love prevailed and they settled happily in Switzerland where there were already some Tibetan refugees.  Sonam gave birth to Yangzom and her young brother, Tashi, and they all lived together.  Martin's work also involved him in the Tibetan culture.  Eventually Sonam became an abstract artist and they are now living in Queens, New York.

The whole family had the opportunity to visit Tibet and found relatives who were still living that they were afraid might have died during the persecution by the Chinese.  It was bittersweet for Kumsang and Sonam, though, because so much of their beloved Tibet had changed under Chinese rule.

The author, Yangzom, is an actress, model, and political activist who lives in both Los Angeles and Berlin.  She has appeared in a number of German and American films and is also active in the Free Tibet movement.  Her website is www.yanzombrauen.com.  Sonam has a website at www.sonam.net.  Her brother, Tashi, has a site also - www.tashibrauen.com..

I found this memoir very moving and instructive - so glad I read it!  pazt