This version of Sky Burial differs slightly from the Chinese original．During the translation process，the author worked with her translators and editor to make sure that a11 elementS of the book were accessible to non-Chinese readerS．

In Chinese names，the surname is placed before the first name．Shu Wen’s first name is therefore Wen．

“AN EPIC OF LOVE，LOSS AND WISDOM—ALMOST UNBEARABLY SAD BUT ULTIMATELY UPLIFTING”  

As a young girl in China Xinran heard a rumour about a soldier in Tibet who had been brutally fed to the vultures in a ritual known as a sky burial：the tale frightened and fascinated her．Several decades later Xinran met Shu Wen，a Chinese woman who had spent years searching for her missing husband Kejun．afcer he disappeared in Tibet；her extraordinary life story would unravel the legend of the skv burial．For thirty years she was lost in the wild and alien landscaDe of Tibet． in the VaSt and silent plateaux and the magisterial mountain ranges living with communities of nomads，moving with the seasons and struggling to survive．

In this haunting book，Xinran recreates Shu Wen~remarkable journey in a grand story of love，loss，loyalty and survival．Moving，shocking and finally enriching， Sky Burial paints a unique portrait of a woman and a land．both．at the mercy of fate and politics．

“A ROMANTIC EPIC OF LOSS AND REDEMPTION．OF STOIC CONSTANCY IN THE FACE OF TH E VAGARIES OF FATE”FINANCIAL TIMES

“PART FAHlLY STORY,PART MYSTICAL ADVENTURE．IT’S LIKE WILD SWANS CROSSED WITH SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET”GILES FODEN

“THIS STORY OF ONE EXTRAORDINARY WOMAN WRITTEN BY ANOTHER EXTRA．ORDINARY WOMAN WILL STAY WlTH YOU LONG AFTER CLOSING THE BOOK”SUNDAY TIMES

Publisher"s Note

1 Shu Wen

2 I Can"t Leave Him in Tibet,Alone

3 Zhuoma

4 A Tibetan Family

5 Lost in Qinghai

6 The Thiirteen Holy Mountains

7 Old Hermit Qiangba

8 The Love of Sky Burial

9 The Journey Home

A Letter to Shu Wen

Acknowledgements