I would like to thank Geri Thoma at the Elaine Markson Literary Agency for getting Sky Burial published, and Doug Seibold at Noble Press for his editorial expertise. I am also indebted to John Ackerly, Margaret Alice Doorty, Mitch Pacelle, Philip Turner, and Kate Skinner Kerr for their comments and guidance through different stages of the manuscript. Most of all, I would like to thank all of the Tibetans that I have met. Without their courage in the face of adversity, I would not have been able to finish this book.
The events and experiences I recount here are all true. However, the identities of many of the characters in this story, Westerners and Tibetans alike, have been altered in order to protect individuals’ privacy and/or security.