Feeling stagnant, gawking mindlessly at his phone, increasingly disconnected from family and everything of importance in his world, it struck writer Bruce Kirkby: this wasn’t who he was; this wasn’t how he wanted to live. That moment of clarity led to a plan: he, his wife and their two young sons would jump on a freighter and head for the Himalaya. To help with the finances, they would document the adventure for a reality TV travel series. Bruce, Christine, seven-year-old Bodi and three-year-old Taj travelled across the globe by sea, rail and eventually on foot. Upon reaching a thousand-year-old Buddhist monastery in the remote Zanskar valley, the television crew left them in peace. In Blue Sky Kingdom, Kirkby shares the story of this journey and his family’s three months in one of the last places on earth where Tibetan Buddhism is still practiced freely in its original setting. Exploring themes of modern distraction, the loss of ancient wisdom and Kirkby’s process of coming to terms with Bodi’s autism diagnosis, Blue Sky Kingdom is the remarkable tale of one family’s experience living in a refuge where ancient traditions intersect with the modern world. With wit, insight and compassion, Kirkby tells a story that will deeply affect readers. | Blue Sky Kingdom by Bruce Kirkby, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters