There were so many reasons why she wound up in the Himalayas. But only after thousands of miles and six months of living in poverty would she begin to understand them. It took the smells and depth of Kathmandu, Pokhara, Swayambhu, Tangting, endless days trekking into the high mountains carrying wood and leaves upon her back, following close behind her bahini or didi, for the new world to awaken her.

However, the turmoil of her past tangled into every experience, and she longed to be untethered, to romp into the majestic wilderness. An inner battle played out in the isolation and shadow of Annapurna. While struggling to free herself from the rubble of her youth, the mountains saved her. And in the resurrection . . . a woman found.

The rigor of that third world country, as well as its deep solitude and mystery, changed the course of her life. But it was those deep, brown-eyed Nepali people who taught her, questioned her and named her Sobha. Yet even after total immersion in their culture she was always known as the "White girl with gold hair." This is her journey.

"With no destination, other than into the foothills of the Helambu valley, we caught a taxi toward the northeast side of Kathmandu where the road eventually ended . . ."