NEW BOOK: A BALCONY IN NEPAL: GLIMPSES OF A HIMALAYAN VILLAGE

After trekking in Nepal, two American women, a writer and an artist, fell in love with this mountainous country and her people. Sally Wendkos Olds and Margaret Roche returned four times between 1993 and 1998 and spent time in a remote village without electricity, telephone or roads. They helped to establish a library there, and in this book, in words and pictures, they tell the story of the villagers, their fast-disappearing way of life, and how the experience changed the travelers' own lives.

A BALCONY IN NEPAL: GLIMPSES OF A HIMALAYAN VILLAGE
by Sally Wendkos Olds
Art by Margaret Roche

"Whether you explore the world in hiking boots or a comfortable chair, A Balcony in Nepal is the perfect companion. Wonderfully written, smartly illustrated, the book discovers a universe in one small village. This is a book for the mind and the heart."

Susan Isaacs, author of COMPROMISING POSITIONS and other bestselling novels

In 1993 writer Sally Wendkos Olds from Port Washington, New York and artist Margaret Roche from Evanston, Illinois were the first western women to visit the village of Badel, nestled in Nepal's eastern hills. They returned four more times, living with families each time, and in their book, graced by Roche?s impressionistic sketches of the villagers, these two mature women from a sophisticated society show what they learned from people who live and work as they have for centuries in a hamlet with no electricity, no telephones, no modern sanitation.

You'll read about the ease of childbirth for most Nepali women and the dangers that would have meant the deaths of the author's and the artist's own daughters. You'll learn how surgery to correct a child's cleft lip can be arranged for less than the price of dinner for two in a typical New York restaurant. You'll see how these two friends, with minimal funds and effort, were able to establish the first library in the village. You'll also see, though, the hints of the violence that has recently troubled this country, as a villager rages against the son-in-law who is beating her daughter, and you'll learn why Olds and Roche had to abandon their original plan to focus their book primarily on the women of the village.

Most of all, you will see how the author and the artist were changed by their stays in Badel. As you share the adventures of these women who came as strangers and became cherished as "Grandma Sally" and "Grandma Marge," you too will be enriched by the ancient wisdom of the people they came to know and love.

   This book is for travelers who want to know more about the day-to-day lives of their sherpas and porters; for armchair explorers who want to experience exotic lands from the excitement and chaos of Kathmandu to the serenity of isolated hamlets; and for all who seek inspiration from the spirituality of another culture. It holds special resonance for women, who can put themselves in Olds's and Roche's sandals as they explore their own life issues in the context of another culture.

More Praise for A BALCONY IN NEPAL:

"This poetically-written and beautifully illustrated tale of East-meets-West raises many issues of deep personal meaning."

Broughton Coburn, author of EVEREST: MOUNTAIN WITHOUT MERCY and other books about Nepal

"A wonderful account from two American women who trekked through the Himalayas to a remote mountain village, shared the primitive life of village women and their families and became ?adopted grandmothers."

Evelyn Kaye, author of ACTIVE WOMAN VACATION GUIDE and other books about unusual travel and women travelers

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND THE ARTIST

Sally Wendkos Olds is an award-winning writer about child development, family life, human relationships, and health. She is the author or coauthor of nine other books and more than 200 articles that have appeared in major national publications. Her first book, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING, a classic in the field, was revised in 1999 for its third edition. Her co-authored college textbooks A CHILD'S WORLD and HUMAN DEVELOPMENT are leading texts in child development and lifespan development and incorporate multi-cultural observations from Nepal and other societies. For more information, see www.sallywendkosolds.com.

Margaret Roche has exhibited her award-winning artwork in numerous juried group exhibits, as well as in several one-person shows. During her treks in the Himalayas (she has made twelve so far ? to Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, Sikkim, Burma and India), she always carries her art materials, so that she can paint and sketch people as they go about their daily tasks and family life. She calls her works "narrative drawings," since she usually writes on the drawing some impression or feeling that she experiences at the time of creating it. Later, back in her studio she turns some of these drawings into limited-edition etchings.

A BALCONY IN NEPAL: Glimpses Of A Himalayan Village
by Sally Wendkos Olds; Art by Margaret Roche
384 pages; 6' x 9'
50 drawings
Paper: $22.95
ISBN: 0-595-24027-5
Pub. date: October 2002