Just look at this gorgeous cover with prayer flags fluttering as a Himalayan peak rises majestically behind a stupa! My heart soared just looking at it. The Sky Beneath Us is a remarkable historical and astoundingly relevant novel, taking the reader from Scotland to the high-altitude Khumbu valley of Nepal. The author's descriptions of trekking in the Himalayas with their rich biodiversity had me gasping from the thin air while at the same time, I could smell the cascading wild roses, camellias, and towering rhododendrons. Told in a dual timeline, we have the stories of Violet and her great-great niece Daisy, who strive to rise above what life has thrown at them.

Fair warning...Daisy's timeline begins in March 2020, just as COVID was changing life as we knew it. Reading this brought emotions rushing back, the fear of the unknown and the isolation. I lost my sister to COVID so it was difficult reading about victims dying alone in the hospital and families being unable to have a funeral. This story beautifully illustrates how no one was untouched by the pandemic as it even changed life in a remote Himalayan village in Nepal. I was so touched by the generosity of spirit shown by the Sherpa people as they offered unconditional sanctuary to both women. This book is inspiring, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting as both Violet and Daisy conquer the obstacles in their lives. "Sometimes you just have to throw your heart into the river of life and dive in after it." It was a privilege to read this book...I loved it.

I really enjoy Fiona Valpy's books and this was no exception. The setting was really wonderful and I loved the journey of discovery the story explored. Recommend

A beautiful written novel set in both Scotland and Nepal describes the story of two women in different time periods discovering who they are and what is important to them. Beginning in the 1920's with Violet, who is attending classes at the Edinburgh School of Gardening, this character embarks on a journey that will alter her life completely. In the Covid era, the reader meets the other main character, Daisy, who has found her great great Aunt Violet's journals and sets off to Nepal to find out what happened to her relative. Both characters are faced with circumstances that they never imagined. The descriptions of both countries and the characters in the story are fantastic. .This is a wonderful read that I highly recommend, I look forward to reading more from this author.

The Sky Beneath Us unfolds as beautifully and as warmly as a vintage quilt. Set mostly in Nepal, not far from the base of Everest, a Scottish young woman, Violet, chooses to live a life which gives her the freedom to chart her own course, along with her young daughter, unlike the path that would have been set out for her by her wealthy parents back home. She is a botanist and an illustrator, and the author does a fabulous job of describing native Nepalese flora, as well as the majestic mountain scenery.

Decades later, Violet's great, great niece, after reading much of Violets journals, travels to Nepal to discover the ending to Violet's story. The early weeks of the Covid pandemic leave her stranded in Nepal, where she learns to live freely among friends and relatives, just like her ancestor, Violet, did.

This book will leave the reader wishing to travel to Nepal to uncover their own long-lost Nepalese relatives. Superb!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Sky Beneath Us by F. Valpy, published by Lake Union Publishing, is a story that spans decades.
Beautifull written, beautifully thought out and told, I couldn't put the book down. Multi layered, a sittengemälde of society and time I was intrigued and was nor disappointed.
Blurb: An inspiring, uplifting story of love and loss, courage and adventure.
1927. Violet Mackenzie-Grant is embarking on her dream of studying at the Edinburgh School of Gardening for Women. She doesn’t yet know that it’s a journey that will take her to Kathmandu and beyond, deep into captivating landscapes and cultures that are worlds away from everything and everyone she’s left behind in Scotland.
2020. Daisy Laverock has dreamed of retracing the footsteps of her great-great-aunt Violet ever since discovering her long-lost journals, whose accounts of plant hunting in the 1930s inspired Daisy’s own career. Divorced, and facing an empty nest, Daisy decides to embark on the trip of a lifetime. She arrives in Nepal, ready to start trekking in the shadow of Everest. But fate, and the pandemic, have other plans.
Stranded and alone, Daisy must fall back on the kindness of strangers, taking inspiration from Violet’s determination and resilience to keep going in the darkest of times. As she gradually pieces together the fragments of Violet’s story and uncovers long-held secrets, can Daisy finally reveal a path forward to her own future::
I recomend the book.