Gurkha Brotherhood

‘Sometimes my mind reaches back beyond the fear and the arid landscapes of war, to memories of childhood that fill me with happiness and laughter.’ ___________ ‘A humane and gripping book which proves beyond doubt why the Gurkhas are known as such formidable warriors.’ – Sir Ranulph Fiennes ___________ This is a searingly honest memoir by Kailash Limbu, a serving Gurkha soldier who undertook five tours of active service in Afghanistan. Kailash Limbu was in the front line of the fighting in Helmand Province . On dangerous resupply missions and on offensive patrols that took them to the heart of the ‘killing zone’, he and his men came under frequent attack from Taliban fighters . He talks of other operations in which he has served – and, perhaps most movingly, of the other Gurkha soldiers – the united band of brothers – with whom he serves and on whom he relies every day. On many occasions he has feared he would not live to see the end of the day – and, inevitably, he lost several friends and colleagues from the close-knit Gurkha brotherhood. His means of coping with the trauma of conflict was to travel back in his mind to his childhood in a remote Himalayan village in Nepal. But even amid the simplicity of mountain life, danger and tragedy lurked. In this compelling narrative Capt Limbu celebrates his Gurkha heritage , relates remarkable stories of courage (his own and others’), and confronts demons that have shaped but never broken him. The result is a record of war and peace that is rare in its honesty and humility .