In 1983, twenty-one year old Amy Edelstein set out on a solitary 500-kilometer journey in the highest valley in the world. Zanskar, the westernmost corner of the Tibetan plateau had only recently opened to travelers. She would spend several months walking by foot, crossing passes above 16,000 feet, sleeping in caves, meeting high lamas and monastics, and exploring a culture that had remained virtually the same for thousands of years. It was a culture that would change dramatically and irrevocably in the few short decades since. What drew her was the eternal seeker's quest for wisdom and insight, what shaped the rest of her life is what she found. This is her story. Readers in our stressed and troubled times can now share in the fruits of her adventure and learn from what she discovered about courage, perseverance, kindness, meditation, awakening, and the difference between Eastern and Western worldviews. You may grow happier, wiser, and lighter in the process.
