Narrative nonfiction, literary journalism and travelogue spanning India and three other continents.
OCTOBER 17, 2023 from University of North Carolina Press.

— Peter Hessler, New Yorker writer, MacArthur Fellow, National Book Award finalist: “Beautifully observed, with full-bodied, engaging characters who are never lost in the shadow of Chinese politics. Amy Yee has done a wonderful job of capturing the details, dramas and dignities of Tibetan life in exile.”

Ha Jin, winner of the National Book Award: “Through a kaleidoscopic portrait, Amy Yee describes displaced Tibetans intimately and truthfully: people who are warm, open, large-hearted, peaceful. Their displacement cannot crush their humanity. Instead, their losses have strengthened them.”

Order the book anywhere books are sold at Amazon, Brookline Booksmith, Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart. And independent bookstores and shops such as Brookline Booksmith, Harvard Book Store, Harvard Coop, Porter Square Books near Boston; Politics & Prose in DC; Shakespeare & Co in New York; signed books available at Book Cellar and Pilsen Community Books in Chicago; Odyssey Books and Glimpse of Tibet in western Massachusetts; Powell’s in Portland, Oregon and more, and UNC Press.

REVIEWS AND INTERVIEWS

The Economist magazine called the book “engaging” with “captivating” personal histories.

“The Tibetan exiles [Amy Yee] follows over the next few years are resilient, resourceful and proud of their heritage. They are excellent ambassadors for a country that China insists has never existed and the very idea of which is treasonous: a free Tibet.”

Boston Globe‘s book review October 17, 2023: “”Readers who seek to understand the plight of our fellow humans in other parts of the world should hang on every word. Books like these are the product of truly personal and professional investment combined. I hope Yee’s contribution to the field is held up as an outstanding example of journalism done right.”

and “…Packed with rich details and distinctive personalities whose descriptions deserve to be relished, Far From the Rooftop of the World….is a deeply researched and empathetic look at a people who remain largely unknown or misunderstood to American readers…”

NPR: Here and Now radio interview with Scott Tong: “Questions about home and what it means have been asked for decades by Tibetans…journalist Amy Yee chronicles some of their lives, travels and separations.”

The World: PRX Radio interview with Marco Werman, aired on NPR stations: “A new book of narrative nonfiction by award-winning journalist Amy Yee, examines the lives of Tibetan refugees, and their efforts to preserve their culture abroad.”

NPR author interview: “Yee’s initial reporting focused on the community in Dharamsala. But as the years went on, some of Yee’s contacts moved to places in other parts of the world — Australia, Belgium, New York. She stayed connected. The result is…a mix of reportage and travelogue.”

Harvard Magazine: “A veteran reporter who covered the aftermath of the Chinese crackdown on Tibetan protestors in 2008 melds journalism and personal reflection in narrating the experiences of Tibetans living in exile. His Holiness the Dalai Lama…wrote the foreword, but in a world with millions of people in flight— the “precious and invaluable” stories [Yee] tells…have universal appeal.” 

Wilson Center in DC: “Over the course of more than a decade, [Yee’s] interactions and correspondences with her Tibetan contacts blossomed into a non-fiction narrative that is among the first of its kind…Yee’s focus on authentic lived experiences—stories that could only be written with deep and trusted connections—establishes a model for responsible and effective refugee representation.”

Foreword Reviews: “Stories shared between friends over a meal are told with the same care and reverence as are those about interactions with the Dalai Lama…Through incredible personal narratives, [the book] paints a deep, nuanced picture of the Tibetan diaspora and the real human impact of China’s policy toward Tibet.”

Lion’s Roar review: “[Amy Yee] takes us with her into the homes, streets, schools, and communities of Tibetan refugees in India, intimately introducing us to unforgettable individuals and showing us their dreams and losses and the ordinary moments of their lives. In his introduction, the Dalai Lama writes of the Tibetan people’s ‘rock solid’ courage in coping with difficult challenges and adapting to unfamiliar environments, saying that their values ‘have the potential to make an important contribution to peace and harmony.'”

MORE PRAISE:

Edward Luce, author of In Spite of the Gods and former Financial Times South Asia bureau chief: “A wonderful and moving portrait of a people whose predicament needs to be brought into the sunlight. This is a work of passion and insight that deserves to be widely read.”

Lobsang Sangay, former prime minister of the Tibetan government in exile: “While Amy Yee’s book is about the lives and political struggle of Tibetans in exile, it also reflects and speaks to the personal challenges and triumphs of 100 million refugees and diasporas around the world.”

Paul A. Cohen, Harvard University: “A marvelous book. Herself a Chinese American, Amy Yee brings her sensitivity to matters of cultural identity to bear on the lives of Tibetan refugees in India and beyond.”

Akhil Sharma, author of Family Life, winner of the International Dublin Literary Award: “This extraordinary, compassionate work takes us into both physical and spiritual worlds. When we finish the book, we are left changed. We can see who we were when we began it and who we are now.”

Tencho Gyatso, president of the International Campaign for Tibet: “In too many narratives, Tibetans are merely faceless victims. But in this perceptive and empathic work, Amy Yee shows we are people full of life, dreams, nuances, and resilience.”

Tsering Wangmo-Dhompa, author of Coming Home to Tibet: “In centering the daily lives of ordinary Tibetans, Amy Yee’s work achieves what narratives on Tibetans often fall shy of doing: seeing Tibetans as contemporary people.”

Shayla Lawson, author of This Is Major: Notes on Diana Ross, Dark Girls, and Being Dope, National Book Critics Circle finalist: “Captivating. In richly poetic prose, Amy Yee champions the perseverance of Tibetan people with refreshing candor in this timely and transcendent work that will make you smile, laugh, and hold your heart at every turn.

Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa, Occidental College: “This timely and insightful book centers the voices of regular Tibetan people, and issues of Tibetan sovereignty and wellbeing. Yee captures an important decade in the development of the global Tibetan diaspora.”

Kimberly Meyer, author of The Book of Wanderings: “In an era of vitriol and division, Yee’s compelling work offers truth, hope, and a vital and humane perspective on refugee resettlement.”

ABOUT THE BOOK

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.

Order the book at Amazon, Brookline Booksmith, Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart, and independent bookstores such as Brookline Booksmith, Harvard Book Store, Porter Square Books near Boston; Politics & Prose in DC, Shakespeare & Co in New York, Book Cellar and Pilsen Community Books in Chicago, Odyssey Books and Glimpse of Tibet in western Massachusetts, Powell’s in Portland, Oregon and more, and UNC Press.