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List Price: $17.00 | | Publisher: Kodansha America
Salesrank: 450519
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| Media: Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
Since the publication of Sorrow Mountain in 2000, I have received letters from people throughout the world who felt inspired by Ani Pachen's example. Her courage in the face of devastation, as well as the Buddhist teachings that helped her endure, brought comfort to people experiencing illness, depression, and loss. I heard from others who said they received solace from the book's essential message: the ability of an individual to face unimaginable tragedy and go on. It was a source of great satisfaction to Pachen to know that her story had touched so many, it was the culmination of her dreams. In February 2002 Ani Pachen died in her sleep. Those of us who knew and loved her are comforted that she lived to see the publication of the book. She took great pride in helping to tell the world what happened in Tibet. "After years of suffering, my prayers have been answered," she often said. "I feel blessed." -Adelaide Donnelley 2002
Sorrow Mountain: The Journey of a Tibetan Warrior Nun Reviews:
Inspirational but Flawed 
2008-03-01 - One day, the daughter of a Khampa chieftain, seventeen-year-old Ani Lemdha Pachen, ran away from home to avoid marrying. It wasn't that she disapproved of the match her parents' had arranged, but rather that she preferred the cerebral and peaceful world of a Buddhist nun to the physical demands of traditional married life.
Runaway Pachen had spent little time at the monastery, before she returned to her parents. Despite the shame of what she had done, they not only forgave her but agreed she would not have to marry. Before she could return to the monastery to complete her training, Pachen's father tells her of their country's dire political situation. The Chinese are coming to "liberate" them. As a Khampa princess, she will be expected to lead their people through this situation, especially if the Chief should die. So the young lady received a different type of training instead.
For all her bravery, Pachen was unable to resist for long. She was captured by the Chinese army and spent 21 years imprisoned. This true story focuses on how Pachen's spirituality kept her hopeful and sane during her confinement and during the many tortures she endured. The book is sprinkled with the Buddhist teachings that helped her maintain both her sanity and will to live through these dark days and features an introduction by the Dalai Lama himself.
Apparently Richard Gere also advocated this book's creation and publication. He contributed his own introduction and story of how the book idea was born. He speaks of Pachen's life as a "beautiful, disturbing, and deeply inspiring story." He argues that no "serious literature" in the form of narratives or the "Great Tibetan novel" had emerged from the "Tibetan Holocaust, so a book like this one would be a great boon to the Tibetan cause. Gere, of course, had become a Buddhist and was studying in Tibet at this time.
The story's merits include its insights into the life of a Tibetan woman seeking nunhood during the Mao era, it offers inspiration through triumph against extreme adversity, it draws attention to Tibet's political and cultural situation and the ways in which they have suffered in recent history, and it provides lamanistic teachings.
Despite Pachen's, Donnelly's, Gere's, the Dalai Lama's, and many others' good intentions, however, this book probably has fallen short of its intended goal. The storyline does little to sustain the reader's interest because it is patchy and doesn't flow well (When Gere called it "a miracle of simplicity," he wasn't kidding! Something is clearly lost in translation here.). Although the author supposedly consulted many reliable resources, oddly very little of Pachen's story is put into historical context and few of the sources are used to draw insights into Tibet's situation. Considering the book committee's intentions, I would have expected to find a list of support organizations for Tibet in the appendices. Because of the sketchiness of the writing, it was difficult for me to find the book an inspiration, though other readers might find it so. Those looking for a story of spiritual stamina and female courage may enjoy Pachen's story, while those seeking a new perspective on Tibet should borrow it from a friend or a library rather than spending the money to buy it. Everyone else, just skip it. Sorry Richard, this one's not the great Tibetan novel, either.
The dream that could never die. 
2008-02-03 - This book tells the remarkable story of Ani Panchen, a Tibetan nun, who led the resistance to the ruthless Red Chinese occupation of Tibet, after her father's death in 1958.
For 21 years she was imprisoned in hellish Chinese prison camps, only surviving because of her strong will and faith.
After her release she continued to lead the struggle against the Red Chinese occupation and genocide of Tibet's people. In 1988 she was forced into exile in India, where she has continued to devote her life to the dream of Tibetan freedom, even after it has been forgotten by the world.
She begins by her peaceful childhood in pre-occupation Tibet:
In 1950 she describes how "Our country was still at peace, though on the eastern bank of the Yangtze River Chinese troops were gathering. In a few short years, they would sweep over my country, changing it forever. In the name of liberating Tibet from 'imperialist' powers they would destroy monasteries, plunder homes, burn sacred texts, and drive our people to poverty and despair."
Babies were removed from their parents in their thousands to be relocated to Red Chinese 're-education' centers were they were to be brought up in Communist doctrine. Over a million Tibetans were to be anihilated in the Chinese holocaust that followed, and even the animal life of Tibet destroyed in order to force the Tibetans to give up their reverence for life.
Ani Panchen tells of her experiences fleeing from Red Chinese forces, and of seeing small Tibetan children gunned down by Chinese snipers.
It also tells of Panchen's deep Tibetan Buddhist faith underpinned by her will to 'Let all beings be free of suffering, let all being find peace.'
While the book hopes to expose the horrors of the Chinese destruction of Tibet, in actions paralleling those of the Nazis during World War II, Richard Gere in his forward expresses his wish this book may help to "dispel the darkness of this darkest night of Tibetan history and be of benefit to all beings everywhere".
Will the world re-awaken to the suffering of the Tibetan people mand the destruction of their civilization, and not least their dream of the re-birth of their culture and self-determination.
Great story but poorly written 
2007-05-29 - I gave this book four stars because this book is a story that people should know. It is the true story of an amazing Tibetan woman who shows strength and courage in unimaginable situations. My problem with this book is that it is poorly written. It could have been an amazing book as well as an amazing story. "Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk" by Palden Gyatso is still the best I have read on the Tibetan people.
Reality-check - read this book
2004-04-23 - Need a reality check? Feeling sorry for your life? Then read Sorrow Mountain and experience life at it's best and worst. It will lift one out of ordinary existence into the realm of compassion and tolerance. One will begin to experience the essence of the Tibetan region and the mystical struggles of one held prisoner by torturous bandits who tried to steal the Heart of Compassion and failed. Turn off the tv "reality" shows and experience the real-ness of Ani Pachen and her Sorrow Mountain. I guarantee it will become your Sorrow Mountain too.
Inspiring story, beautifully written
2003-05-21 - I just finished reading this book and didn't want to put it down. The story of Ani Pachen is both horrifying and inspiring, how she against all odds not only survived but kept her faith, battling against her own anger at her captors to try to reach a higher spirit of generosity. The writing of Adelaide Donnelley is gorgeous and poetic, capturing the inner spirit and the mystical beauty of the land in words that lift this book to a high literary level. This book deserves to be widely read over many years. But it! Read it! It will move you.
