You Have to Get Lost Before You Can Be Found: A Memoir of Suffering, Grit, and Love of the Himalayas and Basa Village

By Jeff Rasley. Self-published, 2019. 494 pages. $14.99/paperback; $5.99/eBook.

It is true that sometimes our own fulfillment overlaps with great need. There are also times that a change in scenery will open up new perspectives, as when we visit parts of the world that are different from our own. In this book, both of these change-producing experiences happen for Friend Jeff Rasley. Service becomes an integral part of his being in Basa Village in Nepal. Beginning with a business relationship with a local tour outfitter, Rasley developed deeper sensitivity, awareness, and connection to the people, culture, and landscape of the region. This is what we mean when we say things like, “Travel changes you.” It can be more than the transactional tourism where visitors’ currency supports the local economy. It can be more than the quick dazzle of exotic landscapes, new foods, and unknown people, although those are the first stages of relationships. For Rasley, who has been blessed enough to have the time and resources to spend time getting to know the people and place, fascination and curiosity turned into a lasting relationship, with the resulting Basa Village Foundation having done over a decade of development.

Note that only the Kindle version has color photos, and lots of them. Rasley has included photos of mountains, gorges, glaciers, and much more—festivals, temples, artwork, animals, and of course many people from various local tribes.

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2 thoughts on “You Have to Get Lost Before You Can Be Found: A Memoir of Suffering, Grit, and Love of the Himalayas and Basa Village

  1. Having been present for several lectures on Jeff’s adventures and interactions with the people of Basa Village and read some of his reflections on his time in the Himalayas, I would encourage those interested in making a positive difference in our world to read this newest book. It is inspiring to read what a few people can do to embrace another culture and to befriend people who have much to teach us westerners about living simply.

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