Glimpse of Eternal Snows: A Journey Of Love And Loss In The Himalayas - Softcover

Wilson-Howarth, Jane

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1841624357 ISBN 13: 9781841624358

Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides, 2013

Synopsis

Set against the backdrop of one of the most colorful countries in the world, A Glimpse of Eternal Snows is an inspiring story of courage, love and a family’s determination to give their child the best life possible. In pulsating, polluted Kathmandu and an idyllic village on a river island at the foot of the Himalayas, ‘Doctor Jane’ and her engineer husband Simon hope to make a difference: Jane to fulfil her vision to heal and advocate for the poor, Simon to avert the floods that threaten to devastate the land every monsoon season. The Nepali people are accepting of whatever fate flings at them and here the family find sanity, compassion and joy with baby David, who in England was little more than an ‘interesting case’.

This is a tale of Himalayan highs and monsoon lows, of cultural complexities, unexpected wildlife and rugged terrain, of vivid color, superstition and spicy smells.

About this title

From the Author:

A Glimpse of Eternal Snows opens in a teaching hospital in Cambridge where our second son, David, is in trouble. At the age of a month though, he escapes medical institutionalisation. We flee with him so that he can live and grow in the sunshine, against a backdrop of towering Himalayan views. We settled amongst gaudy temples, scented bazaars, magnolia forests, wild elephants, tigers and river dolphins. These scenic elements formed the book that I first started to write. As a Nepali-speaking doctor and zoologist, I had unique insights into caste and slavery in our village as well as the dilemmas of wildlife conservation and the challenges of community development in a region where people sometimes starve.

These themes are undoubtedly fascinating but it took me a long time to develop this as a more personal story and commit to making little David the star of the narrative. I am a private person and I was shy about sharing the intimate experiences that have been so difficult for us as a family. This is why I struggled with writing this my latest memoir, even though I am more efficient as an author.

My first book, about Madagascar, took a full two years to complete, despite having none of the distractions that come with a phone and TV. When working on my second book, I didn't even have an electricity supply unless I went out into the cowshed and started the generator. Even so, that one took less than 18 months. The writing time steadily decreased for the third and fourth books, but Glimpse has had a 12 year gestation. I have drafted and redrafted what has now become David's book so that is it not a dark tale. It is a story of optimism and joy, describing the liberation of escaping to a society where imperfection isn't judged as unacceptable: where everyone is seen as worthy, in their own small way.

Read and be inspired as you are transported to unimagined places, and I hope, are stimulated to re-examine what is precious in life.

From the Inside Flap:

Jane Wilson-Howarth's passion for wildlife began with smuggling roadkill into the house (her mother prefers flowers) then drove her to bag a zoology degree and an overland trip to Nepal. That expedition provided her first experience of species of tropical excreta so that friends at medical school in Southampton - where she met Simon - christened her the Dung Doctor. She has written Lemurs of the Lost World, Bugs Bites & Bowels, Your Child Abroad, Shitting Pretty and most recently Snowfed Waters. She now lives in England where she works as a GP and in a travel clinic and likes to spend quality time with the stick insects, the family and her bicycle.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1841624357
• ISBN 13: 9781841624358
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 390