kteasley's review against another edition
5.0
Well written book documenting story of a family travelling and spending time in the Himalayas. Very interesting journey and I liked his writing style. Would be interested in reading his other books to see if its written in the same way.
chadkoh's review against another edition
2.0
Full review here https://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2021/04/decidedly-disconnected/
ellie_bell's review against another edition
4.0
https://book-bucket.com/2021/02/28/blue-sky-kingdom-an-epic-family-journey-to-the-heart-of-the-himalaya/
Rounded up to 4.5
I love any story, fiction or non fiction, which involves people disconnecting from social media and turning to a simpler lifestyle, so picking this book up was a no-brainer.
It turned out to be a hugely interesting read. Bruce not only packed himself up, but he also packed his wife, Christine, and their two young sons and took them halfway around the world by boat, train and bus, to a remote and completely unplugged monastery in Tibet. Once there they share a small and basic home with the head Lama. The facilities are so basic as to be almost non-existent and I really admired the family for the way that they adapted to fit in and become as much a part of the community as possible. Some of their experiences are funny or heartwarming, and others are very poignant. What shone through was how beautiful the spirit of the Tibetans is, something I've read time and time again.
Another facet to the adventure is how it impacted on their eldest son, Bodi, who is on the autism spectrum. Bruce and his wife were brave to take him out of his routine and honest about their fears over how it would affect him and how he would react. Bodi seemed to flourish in the austere and regimented setting of the monastery and was absorbing small practises, in the natural way that children do, which were good coping mechanisms. I'd love to know how he is doing back in Canada.
I highly recommend this book. It was a fascinating and satisfying read.
Rounded up to 4.5
I love any story, fiction or non fiction, which involves people disconnecting from social media and turning to a simpler lifestyle, so picking this book up was a no-brainer.
It turned out to be a hugely interesting read. Bruce not only packed himself up, but he also packed his wife, Christine, and their two young sons and took them halfway around the world by boat, train and bus, to a remote and completely unplugged monastery in Tibet. Once there they share a small and basic home with the head Lama. The facilities are so basic as to be almost non-existent and I really admired the family for the way that they adapted to fit in and become as much a part of the community as possible. Some of their experiences are funny or heartwarming, and others are very poignant. What shone through was how beautiful the spirit of the Tibetans is, something I've read time and time again.
Another facet to the adventure is how it impacted on their eldest son, Bodi, who is on the autism spectrum. Bruce and his wife were brave to take him out of his routine and honest about their fears over how it would affect him and how he would react. Bodi seemed to flourish in the austere and regimented setting of the monastery and was absorbing small practises, in the natural way that children do, which were good coping mechanisms. I'd love to know how he is doing back in Canada.
I highly recommend this book. It was a fascinating and satisfying read.
jeanetterenee's review against another edition
4.0
Fermented, rotting yak meat with some hair still on it. Num num.
canadianbookworm's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.5
https://cdnbookworm.blogspot.com/2020/10/blue-sky-kingdom.html
More...