The Sky Beneath Us

An inspiring, uplifting story of love and loss, courage and adventure, from the bestselling author of The Skylark’s Secret.

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?

Buy The Sky Beneath Us on Amazon.co.uk
Buy The Sky Beneath Us on Amazon.com

Click on the image below to watch a film of the research trip of a lifetime I made to Nepal and find out more about the inspiration behind the book. With huge thanks to BAFTA-winning filmmakers Richard Else and Meg Wicks who made this beautiful movie (and were brilliant trekking companions too). 

Update on donations to The Little Sherpa Foundation: As of September 2024, I’m pleased to say £6,000 has been raised for this worthy cause from sales of the book, helping fund projects in Phortse village and the wider Khumbu area.

The Sky Beneath Us