In the Land of Heart’s Desire: Reflections of a Western Grandmother in Nepal

Susan Hoivik has devoted much of the past decade to living and working in Nepal, studying its cultures and absorbing its rhythms. She has experienced almost all areas of the country—as trekker, teacher, anthropologist, practising Buddhist, environmental volunteer, and, most recently, as a VSO volunteer seconded as teacher-trainer to Eco Himal’s Rolwaling Eco Tourism project. In this, her personal volume of reflections and experiences over the years, she presents us with new insights into the life and people of the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal. Whether relating her ‘non-heroic’ encounters with yaks, Tibetan mastiffs, snow leopards and earthquakes, or pondering on the vagaries of electricity, development and water supply, or delving into the mysteries of the tika, Buddhist art or the legend of Shangri-La itself, she writes with humour, warmth and understanding about this ‘small mountainous country’ which is home to such a wealth of peoples, cultures and lifestyles.