Yak Girl: Growing Up in the Remote Dolpo Region of Nepal by Dorje Dolma

April 6, 2023 11:06 AM

Dorje grew up in a remote high-altitude village in Nepal without electricity, running water, or even the wheel, in the 1980s. The book is the story of her life to about age 10, when she is adopted by an American couple and brought to the US for life-saving scoliosis surgery. With no schooling at all, she is turned loose in the Himalayas at age 6 to shepherd over her family's herd of goats and yak, responsible for both getting herself and the animals back to the village safely each day. As it becomes apparent that she needs medical help the family embarks on a nearly 1-month trek to Kathmandu, where Dorje sees electricity, automobiles, and TV for the first time. Living 9 people in a 1 room apartment with another family from the village, they eek out survival via begging and social services until Dorje is accepted into a boarding school and starts to learn to read and write, and her family starts the 1-month trek up the mountain back to the village. The book ends as Dorje receives life- saving surgery in America. The book is essentially self-published, but her story is so compelling it does not matter. A real editor working their magic could result in an amazing book that would compare to Angela's Ashes. As is, I still highly recommend the book.
posted by COD