Review of "Married to Bhutan" by Linda Leaming

Have you ever heard of Bhutan? I had never heard of Bhutan until I was given the book to read and review by Hay House Publishing. I was expecting a travel journal but instead read a book about the author's personal growth as a result of living in Bhutan.

This book offers a glimpse into the country of Bhutan, a land locked country at the eastern end of the Himalayas bordering on China and India, but on many levels, it really is only a glimpse. The book is primarily about the personal interior journey of an American woman living in Bhutan leaving behind the traditional comforts of the United States. Her initial struggles to survive in a country that, for the most part, does not have electricity or modern transportation but instead has a government committed to "Gross National Happiness."

There are comparisons between the two countries: "An American friend who visited Bhutan from the U.S. commented on the frenetic level of physical energy everyone seems to have in the U.S. There's all this multitasking, and we have to schedule our days and carefully plan so we get everything done. We talk more in the U.S. The opposite is true here. Multitasking is not in evidence yet, and the pace is much slower. But the mental energy here, the level of awareness that comes from paying attention, from having less stuff around and having less on our calendars, is formidable." p. 80

The moments of reading in which the author really grabs my attention is with statements of her own personal learning: "Learn to be water. In dreams, rivers are symbols of change or transition. The river we live next to, the one I sit beside, is called the Thimphu Tsang Chu, or Clean River. If the water weren't so cold, newly melted from the glacier, I'd wade in and lie down in it, have a baptism. Instead I take a handful and shock my face." p. 141. This sentence took me deeper into my own personal learning and I appreciate that in a book.

The book lacks the depth of descriptive writing to allow a reader to picture and feel the country. However, there is depth of writing in the author's struggle to live in this country and her eventual fall into love with a man and the country.

For more depth about Bhutan go to the back of the book to "More about Bhutan" in which the culture and geography of Bhutan is explained in more depth. My recommendation would be to read that first and then go to the beginning of the book. There is also a glossary at the back of the book with Bhutanese words that are used throughout the book.

This is a good read with an eye toward reading about a personal journey rather than the country. For those of you, who like me, have never heard of this country, you will find your horizons expanded.