The story of Tenzin Palmo, an Englishwoman, the daughter of a fishmonger from London's East End, who spent 12 years alone in a cave 13,000 feet up in the Himalayas and became a world-renowned spiritual leader and champion of the right of women to achieve spiritual enlightenment.

Tenzin Palmo tells her story to Vicki Mackenzie with candor, humor, and clarity. She speaks of the challenges she faced, the hardships she endured, her spiritual aspirations, and the insights she experienced in the cave. She also reveals the inner conflict between her love for a man and her calling. Cave in the Snow is a gripping story of courage and phenomenal persistence. Throughout, Tenzin Palmo proves that she is truly a heroine of our time, a torchbearer in the last frontier of women's liberation - that of equal spiritual rights.

Cave in the Snow, Vicki Mackenzie, Bloomsbury, 210 pages, $23.00

Vicki Mackenzie is a professional journalist and author who has written for the national and international press for over 40 years. Her articles have appeared in The Sunday Times, The Observer, The Daily and Sunday Telegraph, the Daily Mail, and many national magazines. She has written extensively on Buddhist topics and was the first person to publish an interview with the Dalai Lama for The Sunday Times. She has been studying and practicing Buddhism since 1976.

CONTENTS: Cave in the Snow
Map of Lahoul	ix
Chapter One: The Meeting	1
Chapter Two: The Wrong Place	8
Chapter Three: The Dawning -- Finding the Path	19
Chapter Four: The First Step	32
Chapter Five: The Guru	41
Chapter Six: Fear of the Feminine	51
Chapter Seven: Lahoul	65
Chapter Eight: The Cave	77
Chapter Nine: Facing Death	96
Chapter Ten: Yogini	111
Chapter Eleven: Woman's Way	125
Chapter Twelve: Coming Out	139
Chapter Thirteen: The Vision	153
Chapter Fourteen: The Teacher	163
Chapter Fifteen: Challenges	176
Chapter Sixteen: Is a Cave Necessary?	190
Chapter Seventeen: Now	202
Bibliography	209
Acknowledgements	211
Author's Note	213