Liesl Messerschmidt spent most of her childhood and early career living in Kathmandu, Nepal, where she and her family enjoyed treasured relationships with Wangchuk Dorjee’s close relatives living in exile there. Liesl has traveled widely in the Himalayas and is intimately familiar with Tibetan and related cultures and people. Her family, including Himalayan anthropologist Don Messerschmidt and musician Kareen Messerschmidt, remain deeply connected to the Tibetan cause and community in the Pacific Northwest. With several publications on related topics, Liesl’s participation in assisting Wangchuk transcribe and put his story to paper was a natural extension of her personal interests and the lifelong friendship between the two families.
Wangchuk Dorjee was born to a semi-nomadic herding family on the Tibetan Plateau. He survived the siege of Lhasa as a teenager and fled into exile following His Holiness the Dalai Lama where he worked for the Dr. Thomas A. Dooley Foundation serving Tibetan refugees in India; became one of the first six Tibetan refugee immigrant laborers to the US, working as a lumberjack in Maine; and ultimately was elected as North American representative to the Tibetan Government in Exile. Never one to slow down, in retirement Wangchuk clocked 1,600 miles walking for Peace and a Free Tibet across the United States. Wangchuk’s remarkable life story is one of gratitude and servitude, and reminds us of the importance of a friendly chuckle and optimistic demeanor even in times of hardship.
