Ani Pachen has vivid memories of her life as a young girl in Tibet. She remembers times spent riding her favourite horse with her father, a powerful Khampa chieftain. She remembers evenings when the bright and powerful of the village would meet in her family's home to share stories. She remembers afternoons spent in solitary prayer, preparing for her future as a Buddhist nun. She remembers when her biggest fear was an arranged marriage. And she remembers the day her father died and, shortly thereafter, the day the Chinese invaded.
In the blink of an eye, their lives were changed for ever, as the Chinese invasion attacked the people of Tibet, their ancient culture and their Buddhist heritage. In a role she'd never imagined for herself, Ani relinquished her religious dreams and assumed her father's position, leading her village in the fight. Fleeing to the hills, she was one of only a handful of female resistance leaders. Her eventual capture by the Chinese two years later was only the beginning of twenty-one long years of cruel imprisonment and almost constant torture.
Finally released in 1981, Ani returned to her village to find it in ruins. In constant danger of being recaptured, she escaped on foot over the Himalayas into India, and in Dharamsala she found her way to the Dalai Lama and her true spiritual home.
'Sorrow Mountain' is a story of courage and resistance, of suffering and survival. But more than that, it is a spiritual journey, for it was Ani's faith, and her lifelong dream of one day meeting and serving His Holiness the Dalai Lama, that enabled her to remain strong and resolute whilst enduring the most harrowing trials. It is a story that will touch your soul.
