I totally adored this book!
I got it as a present from one of my dear friends and i couldn't drop it once i started reading it. The story is very touching, Ani Choying tells her own life story and tries to teach us all a lesson. And it does!
Even thus the whole book is presenting more a general idea and not getting in deep details, i believe the message it sends is very clear: love and compassion. The buddhism teachings are a mystery for most people, even in the book we don't get to actually face many, but Ani's style of writing is so calming.
Her story starts since she was a small girl, a brief introduction about how their parents got together and the customs (which in all honesty spooked me out, it's very hard to imagine that there are still places on Earth where women are sold or simply taken or have no protection against abusive males).
She grows up in a house the size of a room and she witnesses every abuse and intimate acts her with which her father treats her mother and later on, turning violent toward her as well for whatever he was not pleased with.. From the age of 9 years she understands that if she doesn't do anything, her fate will be the same. At 10 years old, she goes to a monk who agrees to take her in and become a nun.. but her father still manages to keep her around for 3 more years before letting her go.
The most impressive thing about Ani Choying is that she's not the typical type of nun, she does things no other nun has done and she becomes more independent, she dreams big and she follows her dreams. She's eager to learn English, to learn how to drive, to sing, even to dance latino songs and give society something the women are forbidden: a school!
The struggles she goes through and the way she solves everything is a proof of force, determination, passion, love and compassion toward everything she learned under the guidance of her teacher and mentor and all the other people she has met.
The way she manages to forgive her abusive father and love him once more it was a shock to me. Unfortunately, i believe i wouldn't be capable of such devotion...
Still, her story is a very impressive one! Even born with lower rank, with no money, no material belongings, she's a living proof that everyone can achieve the things they want and most of all, they can be taught to have compassion and love even the worst people.