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Snowfed Waters
Snowfed Waters is a moving and uplifting story set amidst the Himalayas. It is a tale of two cultures, of false assumptions and of the gradual dawning of self awareness.
Sonia Swayne’s life is in bits. With her self esteem at rock bottom she decides to flee England - and go to work for a charity in Nepal. The more Sonia learns about her hosts’ customs, spirituality and spontaneity, the more she re-examines her own values. Then, when disaster strikes, she musters resources and courage she’d forgotten she’d ever had.
This is a fictional sequel to "A Glimpse of Eternal Snows" by the author of "Lemurs of the Lost World".
"... in her observation of Nepali culture -- she is careful to avoid a patronising 'them and us' perspective. Couple her sensitive approach with a dramatically unfolding plot and breezy, easy style, and readers clamouring for more since the release of her first Nepal book, are bound to be satisfied."
Saumya Balsari author of "The Cambridge Curry Club" & "Summer of Blue"
"In a confrontation with another culture that becomes more life-enhancing and a land more life-threatening than anything she has ever experienced before, Sonia's overwhelming problems back in England gradually become trifling. Nepal's unfamiliar culture and Nature itself carry the tale like the river that becomes so important in Sonia's alteration from victim into healer. Five voices weave together strands of cultural confusion to create a rich tapestry of greater humanity, and deftly draws one into minds with very different perspectives."
Amy Corzine author of "The Secret Life of the Universe" etc
Sonia Swayne’s life is in bits. With her self esteem at rock bottom she decides to flee England - and go to work for a charity in Nepal. The more Sonia learns about her hosts’ customs, spirituality and spontaneity, the more she re-examines her own values. Then, when disaster strikes, she musters resources and courage she’d forgotten she’d ever had.
This is a fictional sequel to "A Glimpse of Eternal Snows" by the author of "Lemurs of the Lost World".
"... in her observation of Nepali culture -- she is careful to avoid a patronising 'them and us' perspective. Couple her sensitive approach with a dramatically unfolding plot and breezy, easy style, and readers clamouring for more since the release of her first Nepal book, are bound to be satisfied."
Saumya Balsari author of "The Cambridge Curry Club" & "Summer of Blue"
"In a confrontation with another culture that becomes more life-enhancing and a land more life-threatening than anything she has ever experienced before, Sonia's overwhelming problems back in England gradually become trifling. Nepal's unfamiliar culture and Nature itself carry the tale like the river that becomes so important in Sonia's alteration from victim into healer. Five voices weave together strands of cultural confusion to create a rich tapestry of greater humanity, and deftly draws one into minds with very different perspectives."
Amy Corzine author of "The Secret Life of the Universe" etc
316 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
45 people want to read
About the author
Jane Wilson-Howarth
22 books23 followersAs a child Jane dreamed of intrepid adventures and encounters with exotic wildlife but it wasn’t until she was 22 and with a zoology degree to her credit that she started travelling: she organised a six-month expedition to catalogue the creatures living in Himalayan caves. To cut a very long story short, this trip lead to a parasitology then medical qualification, a husband and many more exotic trips. She experienced leeches, malaria mosquitoes, ticks and scorpions first hand and, realising how good information contributes to enjoyable travel, wrote her first travel health guide, "Bugs Bites & Bowels", which launched in a sixth edition in December 2023 as "Staying Healthy When You Travel". Her first book was a travel narrative, "Lemurs of the Lost World". So far, 10 of her books have been books published.
Dr Jane has lived in various very remote corners of the globe and has spent about 15 years in South Asia. Jane’s third son made his first big trip – to Nepal – at the age of three weeks. Experiences of living in rural Nepal proved a rich resource for Jane's writing as her travel biography, her first novel and her adventure stories for children bear witness.
She practised as a general practitioner / family physician for 15 years in Cambridgeshire and boasts more letters after her name than in it; she teaches extensively on travel health including an annual commitment to a workshop on diarrhoea at the University of Cambridge medical school. She has written more than 200 health features for Wanderlust magazine and her words have been published in national newspapers and the academic press. She is proud to have a tale in two of Bradt's travel anthologies, and also several in "Fifty Camels and She's Yours.".
In September 2017 she moved back to Nepal and is dividing her time between Kathmandu and Cambridge. Her Nepal photos are on Instagram @longdropdoc and she tweets (occasionally) also as @longdropdoc. Her blogs are on her author website www.wilson-howarth.com where there are photogalleries relating to her books.
Dr Jane has lived in various very remote corners of the globe and has spent about 15 years in South Asia. Jane’s third son made his first big trip – to Nepal – at the age of three weeks. Experiences of living in rural Nepal proved a rich resource for Jane's writing as her travel biography, her first novel and her adventure stories for children bear witness.
She practised as a general practitioner / family physician for 15 years in Cambridgeshire and boasts more letters after her name than in it; she teaches extensively on travel health including an annual commitment to a workshop on diarrhoea at the University of Cambridge medical school. She has written more than 200 health features for Wanderlust magazine and her words have been published in national newspapers and the academic press. She is proud to have a tale in two of Bradt's travel anthologies, and also several in "Fifty Camels and She's Yours.".
In September 2017 she moved back to Nepal and is dividing her time between Kathmandu and Cambridge. Her Nepal photos are on Instagram @longdropdoc and she tweets (occasionally) also as @longdropdoc. Her blogs are on her author website www.wilson-howarth.com where there are photogalleries relating to her books.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 18, 2019
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading Jane’s “Snowfed Waters” and recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning about the different cultures and people. It is not only funny and entertaining book to read, but it also opens up your eyes to learn about natural disasters and how characters deal with it; grief stricken, indifferently but also with great resilience. The fact is that Jane lives and works in Nepal makes her writing so personal, real and touching. I loved the humor and cultural differences between the characters and their life perspectives. Thank you Jane for sharing your beautiful insights of our beloved country Nepal, where we live now and call it home!
November 28, 2019
We read Snowfed Waters last month for a bookclub discussions based in Kathmandu. My group and I agree it should be recommended for those intending to visit Nepal. Sonia is a perfect caricature of expatriate volunteers who venture out to live in foreign cultures well outside of their comfort zone. When a natural disaster stuck the community and the local family she had learned to love, she gets over her self-absorption and phobias to help them survive. The humour with which the author describes the cultural difference is admirable.
February 20, 2018
Excellent exploration of Nepal through the eyes and voices of local characters and its protagonist, a young Englishwoman escaping heartbreak who finds strength and her own power through helping others after being caught herself in a dramatic and frightening flood of the kind that happens in this region of the world. I couldn't put it down.
July 31, 2015
An extremely interesting and enjoyable read. The author conveys a vivid view of life in Nepal as the heroine, a Cambridge teacher, undertakes an adventure that restores her self-esteem.
July 13, 2014
I trust those who enjoyed the vicarious journey to the Himalayas in "A Glimpse of Eternal Snows" will book another trip, back to the island of Rajapur in the lowlands of Nepal, and to the mountains that overshadow it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews