Stillness on Shaking Ground

This powerful and dramatic autobiographical novel involves visits to Tibet and Nepal, the latter in a humanitarian aid capacity around the devastating earthquakes. It is certain more broadly within the teaching context of Karma Kagyu Buddhism, specific aspects of which come to the fore at appropriate times during the narrative. The fundamental theme is love and loss, drawing on two very different kinds of personal relationship as a theatre for attachment and letting go. A critical insight is the realisation that suffering derives from one's own mind and more generally from ignorance. Overcoming persistent habits, however, requires considerable dedication and perseverance. The narrative is intense with detailed observations about people and situations that are also informed by the author's expertise on health and lifestyle. Readers gain a vivid impression of the awful conditions surrounding the earthquakes and the enormous resilience and resourcefulness of the Nepalese people as well as of the central character Olivia. The book engages the reader is a deep level in relating the character's experience to one's own within the context of finding meaning in a world of impermanence and suffering.