Radio Shangri-La
What I Discovered on my Accidental Journey to the Happiest Kingdom on Earth
1 of 1 copy available
Long isolated from industrialization and just beginning to open its doors to the modern world, Bhutan is a deeply spiritual place, devoted to environmental conservation and committed to the happiness of its people—in fact, Bhutan measures its success in Gross National Happiness rather than in GNP. In a country without a single traffic light, its citizens are believed to be among the most content in the world. To Lisa, it seemed to be a place that offered the opposite of her fast-paced life in the United States, where the noisy din of sound-bite news and cell phones dominate our days, and meaningful conversation is a rare commodity; where everyone is plugged in digitally, yet rarely connects with the people around them.
Thousands of miles away from everything and everyone she knows, Lisa creates a new community for herself. As she helps to start Bhutan’s first youth-oriented radio station, Kuzoo FM, she must come to terms with her conflicting feelings about the impact of the medium on a country that had been shielded from its effects. Immersing herself in Bhutan’s rapidly changing culture, Lisa realizes that her own perspective on life is changing as well—and that she is discovering the sense of purpose and joy that she has been yearning for.
In this smart, heartfelt, and beautifully written book, sure to please fans of transporting travel narratives and personal memoirs alike, Lisa Napoli discovers that the world is a beautiful and complicated place—and comes to appreciate her life for the adventure it is.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
February 8, 2011 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780307879929
- File size: 220204 KB
- Duration: 07:38:45
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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A chance encounter leads NPR journalist Lisa Napoli to travel to the isolated Himalayan nation of Bhutan to help build the nation's first radio station. Napoli's budding relationships with Kuzoo FM's 20-something staff reveal the spiritual and material conflicts facing the Bhutanese as they transform from a Buddhist monarchy to a fledgling democracy. Radio is an aural medium, making the audio version of this book vastly superior due to its ability to render the fledgling station's intriguing broadcasts. Another bonus is that Napoli herself depicts the world of Bhutanese radio, one of many technologies yanking Bhutan headfirst into the modern world. The confidence, contentment, and wonder in Napoli's voice reveal both her love of Bhutan and her rediscovered inner peace. J.T. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine -
November 8, 2010
When Napoli met the handsome Sebastian at a cookbook party in New York City, she was intrigued by this man who traveled to Bhutan regularly. And when the accomplished L.A.-based journalist (MSNBC, CNN, public radio's Marketplace) researched the country about which he spoke so enthusiastically, she became entranced with Bhutan, a tiny Himalayan kingdom that sits between India and China. This country—dubbed "the happiest on earth" because of its focus on environmental and social progress—is hard to get to, with its remote location and governmental deterrents to tourism, like a $200 per-person, per-day tourist tax. But a friend of Sebastian's needs help with startup radio station Kuzoo FM, so Napoli leaves L.A. and goes to Bhutan for six weeks. She writes, "After more than two decades of reducing even the most complex issues to 1,000 words or less, I was tired of observing life from a distance." While the author turns an eye on her own motivations (nothing further developed with Sebastian), she refrains from tortured navel-gazing and instead shares and reflects on Bhutan's people, history, and customs (from painting phalluses on houses to repel evil spirits to Buddhism's role in daily life). Napoli's adventures at home and abroad, in nature and career and spirit, will delight readers.
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