By Joni BoydFriday 3 May 2024Hope Book ClubBooksReading Time: 5 minutes
Warning: The following article contains content that some readers may find distressing. If you need support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit lifeline.org.au.
Kirsty Nancarrow has been a storyteller since early childhood.
Key points
- Kirsty’s experiences in Nepal led her to writing her debut book Himalayan Dreams – the story of Som Tamang, who overcame incredible odds to empower children in rural Nepal through education.
- Eventually in 2016, Kirsty began sponsoring the first of three girls that her family now sponsors, and she decided to and volunteer at the village as a teacher.
- “If this person (Som) who was born of nothing and had all of these challenges in his life, has been able to achieve this, what could I possibly do with my own life?” Kirsty said.
- Hear the full episode of The Hope Book Club in the listener above or wherever you get your podcasts.
When Kirsty’s work as a news reporter left her with PTSD and depression, she eventually travelled to Nepal.
Her experiences there led to her debut book Himalayan Dreams, which tells the story of Som Tamang, who overcame incredible odds to empower children in rural Nepal through education.
“He’s had an entire life to this point that was worth writing about, worth putting in the book,” Kirsty said of Som’s story.
“Som was a child slave in Nepal, and he became caught up in that situation because he was in pursuit of his education.
“At the time, his local school in Batasi village only went to grade five.
“So, when children finished school in grade five, they either had to abandon their education or they had to find another way to get to a city hours and hours away to continue their education.”
Kim’s experiences in Nepal led her to writing her debut book Himalayan Dreams – the story of Som Tamang
Som vividly remembers girls leaving the village, never to return. The girls were often trafficked and forced to marry young, while boys were expected to begin farm work after finishing Grade 5. Som was determined this wouldn’t happen to his siblings. And despite being trafficked himself, has built an incredible network of organisations saving children from trafficking, providing them with education and employment opportunities.
Hear Som’s conversation with Georgia on The Hope Book Club or wherever you get your podcasts.
(Left-right) Kirsty walking to Batase school to volunteer in 2018, teaching at Batase School in 2016, with sponsor child Jenisha.
Meeting Som
Kirsty met Som after the Nepal Earthquake of 2015.
“I was lucky enough to meet Som at one of the most difficult times of his life,” she told The Hope Bookclub’s Georgia Free.
“Lucky in the sense that I got to meet him.
“[Som] was living in Cairns, where I live, and discovered a couple of days after the earthquake that he had lost his brother, he’d lost the Friends of Himalayan Children hostel, and the school had been destroyed, and a lot of the buildings in the village.
“He was planning to go back there as soon as he could with resources from Cairns to try and help not just his village, but a lot of the remote villages.”
In 2016, Kirsty began sponsoring a local girl, and volunteering at the village as a teacher.
Kirst interviewed Som about his trip back to Nepal and continued to follow along with his journey as he went on to return over the next few months.
Eventually in 2016, Kirsty began sponsoring the first of three girls that her family now sponsors, and she decided to and volunteer at the village as a teacher.
“When I came back from that trip, I said to Som, I need to write your story,” she said.
“I didn’t know the half of it then, but I just knew that there was a big story to tell.”
Kirsty’s journey through PTSD
“You try your best, but years and years of covering traumatic events, natural disasters, suicides, murders, horrible things that I covered in my career, I guess it just began to chip away at my emotional resilience,” Kirsty said of her work in journalism.
“I could start seeing subtle changes in myself and then more obvious ones.
“I became depressed, and there were a couple of incidents in particular that really were triggers for me.”
After five months of insomnia, Kirsty’s doctor recommended she take extended leave.
“Ultimately, when I felt a bit stronger, decided that would be a good time to go and volunteer in Batasi.
“It really did give me a sense of purpose again.
“It made me feel like I had something to give because I really felt when I went on leave that that was it for me, that my career was over, that I didn’t have anything else to give.
“It really did restore my faith in myself that I had something to contribute and so the book was really a healing exercise for myself as well.”
Sponsor child Jenisha thanks Kirsty for her work, alongside her dad.
After seven months leave, Kirsty made the decision to leave her job.
These days, she believes that we need to get better at supporting each other’s mental health, rather than allowing there to be a sense of shame or stigma around it.
“We live in a society where we only share the good things on social media, and people don’t necessarily go and seek help or even talk to a trusted friend or family member because there’s sort of some kind of shame or stigma attached to it,” she said.
Kirsty saw that if Som, who faced terrible challenges, was able to achieve what he has, “what could I possibly do with my own life?”
“I think if we share what we’re going through or if we seek help from the professionals who can help, then we can have another life.
“And that’s what I feel like I’ve had – I feel like, you know, leaving my journalism career behind, starting this book, and now working for myself, I’ve got a whole new life and a whole new sense of purpose.”
An inspired life
Her experience with working with Som in Nepal and writing Himalayan Dreams has had a clear impact on Kirsty.
“If this person (Som) who was born of nothing and had all of these challenges in his life, has been able to achieve this, what could I possibly do with my own life?” she said.
“Never think anything is impossible or too big – just start.
“I didn’t – I thought that about the book.
“I thought, I don’t know how I’m going to write this book, but here it is.
“It is a book and it’s doing its work.
“So, yeah, just start.
“Just believe in yourself.”
Hear the full episode of The Hope Book Club in the listener above or wherever you get your podcasts – and don’t forget to join the Hope Book Club Facebook group!
Help is available
For support visit:
- Lifeline: 13 11 14
- Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 (or chat online)
- Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636 (or chat online)
- NSW Health’s Mental Health Line: 1800 011 511
- Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support line 13YARN on 13 92 76
- Headspace:1800 650 890
- ReachOut at au.reachout.com
- MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978
All images supplied.