The Voice that Remembers: A Tibetan Woman's Inspiring Story of Survival [Paperback]

Joy Blakeslee (Author), His Holiness the Dalai Lama (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1999

Ama Adhe's spirit soars over national and cultural boundaries. Her tenacious struggle to remain human in the face of inhuman torture and deprivation while imprisoned by the Chinese for 27 years inspires any reader fortunate enough to encounter this remarkable woman's story. The Voice that Remembers features additional material on Tibet and China in the last half of the 20th century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"... The story of a woman who sustained her human dignity, integrity, and compassion in the face of immense degradation and suffering ... both compelling and inspiring." -- Feminist Bookstore News, November/December 1997

"... a captivating story... testimony to the powers of the human will." -- Virginia Quarterly Review, Summer 1998

"... a riveting account of the desecration of a culture, a religion, a family and a landscape." -- Mickey Spiegel, Human Rights Watch

"... a searing tale..." -- Booklist, November 15, 1997

"... a still and quiet conscience, a voice for Tibet." -- The Trenton Times, December 7, 1997

"...her courage, strength, compassion and determination are inspiring." -- Arkansas Democrat Gazette, March 1, 1998

"A moving testimony which serves to further international awareness and understanding. This book must be read." -- Amnesty International

"I have never read a book as ... terrifying and inspiring in my life... A Tibetan woman's account of twenty-seven years of torture in labor camps for resisting China's occupation of her homeland. Ama Adhe... describes -- with unutterable calm -- acts of unthinkable evil, and the unwavering spirit of the woman who withstood them." -- Psychology Today, June 1998

"With so much of Tibetan history recently lost, this book's achievement is to capture the details of Tibet's agony in a remote corner of our land. I was also born in that remote corner, and Ama Adhe brings to life the spirit there that China tried to wipe out." -- Lodi Gyari, President, International Campaign for Tibet

- "... a moving testimony of both the suffering and the heroism of the Tibetan people ... hers is 'the voice that remembers the many who did not survive.'" -- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

About the Author

: ADHE TAPONTSANG, now sixty-seven, was born in the eastern Tibetan region of Kham. She spent a happy childhood there and was married in 1948. In 1950, Kham was invaded by the communist Chinese. In the ensuing years, Adhe and her husband, Sangdho Pachen, worked with other Tibetans to oppose the occupation. In 1956, when Adhe was pregnant with her second child, her husband died. Adhe and her compatriots suspected poisoning. During the following two years, Adhe stepped up her efforts at resisting the Chinese, organizing an underground women's movement to aid the Khampa guerrillas stationed in the hills. She was arrested in 1958 and spent the next twenty- seven years in prison. In 1987, she left Tibet for India, where she now lives in exile in the same town as His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications; 2nd edition (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0861711491
• ISBN-13: 978-0861711499
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #607,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Women and Tibetan Freedom, July 9, 2001

By 

Stephen (Chico, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Voice that Remembers: A Tibetan Woman's Inspiring Story of Survival (Paperback)

I have read a number of books on Tibet, but this was the first from a womans point of view. To learn not only about women in Tibet but women in general was very educational. Being one of very very few to survive her prison ordeal Ama has taken the task of sharing the story of many of her dead friends. The attrocities have been played down to some extent, compared to other books I have read. Good for the sensative but curriouse reader. Worth while.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars an eye-opener; truly a heroic story of a woman's survival, April 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ama Adhe: The Voice that Remembers: The Heroic Story of a Woman's Fight to Free Tibet (Hardcover)

My heart and respect goes out to this woman who, still living today, survived the atrocities the chinese revolutionaries inflicted on her. I applaud her determination not to be "reeducated" by the communists throughout her entire imprisonment and her success in not allowing this to happen. I also applaud her perserverance in maintaining her faith, when it would be so easy to abandone this in such circumstances. Noone should have to withstand the brutal, inhumane kinds of behavior she did. Throughout the book and even afterwards, I still ask myself the same question "how could anyone do such things to another human being?". Was truly affected by the story and am much more aware of the Tibetan struggle as a result. Highly recommend this for a week-end read!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A True Heroine, November 17, 2000

By 

Stirling Davenport (Poughkeepsie, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ama Adhe: The Voice that Remembers: The Heroic Story of a Woman's Fight to Free Tibet (Hardcover)

This is one of my favorite books of all time--among thousands of books I've read. Writing with great honesty and humility, Ama Adhe's courage and compassion shine like a lamp for anyone faced with oppression, torture and brutality for their beliefs and devotion to their homeland and people. My heart goes out to her with great gratitude for sharing her story with the world. I hope others will read it and treasure the example of her spirit. I think her book made me a better person.