Hello and Tashi Delek! I’m Amy Yee, a US journalist and author of the narrative nonfiction book, “Far From the Rooftop of the World: Travels among Tibetans on Four Continents” (UNC Press), with a Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

I am currently a reporter with the Chicago Sun Times and was previously with Bloomberg and the Financial Times in New York and India, where I lived for seven years. I’ve written for more than 30 US and UK media outlets, including the New York Times, The Economist, Wall Street Journal, NPR and Washington Post.

My literary journalism and travel book begins in March 2008 while covering a press conference with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala in northern India as protests were erupting in Tibet. I was amazed by the town that is home to the Dalai Lama and Tibetan exiles and also inspired by the people I met there, even during a tumultuous time in their homeland.

I eventually moved to Dharamsala and wrote extensively about Tibetan issues from there against the backdrop of the milestone 50th anniversary of the Tibetan exile in 2009. I hope my book did justice to the remarkable stories of Tibetan people.

The fourth chapter of my book focuses on the Tibetan education system in India and spotlights the Tibetan Children’s Village. Schools like the Tibetan Children’s Village in Dharamsala and others across India are essential for preserving Tibetan language, culture and identity.

This GoFundMe is to raise funds to donate and ship copies of my book to students at Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) in India. Please consider donating my book published in India by Sanctum Books. In India it costs 1,976 rupees, or about $21 US. Books will be distributed in collaboration with Tibetan Children's Village.

Funds remaining after covering purchase, shipment and administrative costs will be donated to TCV and possibly other charities. By sharing stories of Tibetan people, I hope to inspire people and foster understanding.

The Economist called the book “engaging” with “captivating” personal histories.

The Boston Globe said: “Readers who seek to understand the plight of our fellow humans in other parts of the world should hang on every word...Yee’s contribution to the field is held up as an outstanding example of journalism done right.”

The book has been featured in The Economist, Boston Globe, NPR, NPR’s Here and Now, The World (PRX Radio), Radio Free Asia, Nikkei Asia, Harvard magazine, Lion's Roar magazine, Kirkus Reviews, and more media outlets. I was interviewed on the International Campaign for Tibet's podcast, Tricycle Magazine's podcast, and others.

“Far From the Rooftop of the World” won a Book of the Year award from the Chicago Writers Association in 2025 and two Book of the Year awards from Foreword Reviews.

Thank you for your gift to Tibetan students in India, and for supporting journalists at a time when the media faces many threats. Your generosity also supports writers and artists everywhere, helping us continue to share important stories that can shape public opinion and policy, inspire people and spark positive change.

Praise for the Book: Tencho Gyatso, president of the International Campaign for Tibet, said: “In too many narratives, Tibetans are merely faceless victims. But in this perceptive and empathic work, Amy Yee shows we are people full of life, dreams, nuances, and resilience.”

Lobsang Sangay, former prime minister of the Tibetan government in exile, said: “While Amy Yee’s book is about the lives and political struggle of Tibetans in exile, it also reflects and speaks to the personal challenges and triumphs of 100 million refugees and diasporas around the world.”

Edward Luce, author of In Spite of the Gods and former Financial Times South Asia bureau chief: “A wonderful and moving portrait of a people whose predicament needs to be brought into the sunlight. This is a work of passion and insight that deserves to be widely read.”

Peter Hessler, New Yorker writer, National Book Award finalist, MacArthur Fellow: "Beautifully observed...Amy Yee has done a wonderful job of capturing the details, dramas, and dignities of Tibetan life in exile."

More about my work is at amyyeewrites.com