In 2008, the Chinese government cracked down on protests throughout Tibet, and journalist Amy Yee found herself covering a press conference with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, his exile home in India. She never imagined a personal encounter with the spiritual leader would spark a global, fourteen-year journey to spotlight the stories of Tibetans in exile. As she documents how Tibetans live between worlds, Yee comes to know ordinary but extraordinary people like Topden, a monk and unlikely veterinary assistant; Norbu, a chef and political refugee; and Deckyi and Dhondup, a couple forced to leave their middle-class lives in Lhasa. Yee follows them to other parts of India and across oceans and four continents where they forge new lives while sustaining Tibetan identity and culture.
Weaving a sweeping travel narrative with intimate on-the-ground reportage, Far from the Rooftop of the World tells these stories and others against the backdrop of milestones and events in Tibet's recent history - many memorable, too many tragic. The resulting portrait illuminates the humanity, strength, and perseverance of a people whose homeland is in crisis.
Far from the Rooftop of the World: Travels Among Tibetan Refugees on Four Continents, Amy Yee, University of North Carolina Press, Paperback, 261 pages, $23.00
Amy Yee is an award-winning journalist, most recently with Bloomberg/CityLab and previously with the Financial Times in New York and India where she lived for seven years. She has also written for 30+ US and UK media outlets, including New York Times, Economist, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Washington Post and more.
Amy is a MacDowell Fellow with four Notable Essays in The Best American Essays. She is the author of the narrative nonfiction book Far From the Rooftop of the World: Travels among Tibetan Refugees on Four Continents with a Foreword by the Dalai Lama. The book crosses genres of literary journalism and travelogue yet was academically peer reviewed for publication by UNC Press. It was a Finalist in Restless Books' Immigrant Writing Prize in 2017.
Amy has reported solo from 20+ countries, including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, as well as 10 in Africa with a focus on solutions to social problems.
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