Ordering Information
$24.95, 6 x 9 in, PB, 264 pages, b/w photos
ISBN: 978-1-963714-24-1
Publication date: December 1, 2026
To order copies, please visit CasemateIPM.com or give them a call at (610) 853-9131.
Down the Braided River:
My Journey as a Deaf Refugee
by Julia Freeman-Woolpert and Bhawani Dangal
Bhawani was seven years old when Bhutan expelled his family in a little known ethnic cleansing campaign. He arrived in a Nepali refugee camp having lost not just his home, and shortly after, his hearing and his mother. He endured loss, stigma, and profound isolation. In the refugee camps of Nepal, the arrival of Nepali Sign Language classes changed everything: for the first time, Bhawani and other Deaf refugees could communicate, and a community took shape.
Two decades later, resettlement in Concord, New Hampshire brought a new form of invisibility. The local agency was unprepared to serve Deaf refugees. Isolated again, Bhawani responded by learning American Sign Language, teaching it to others, and becoming an ASL-to-Nepali Sign Language interpreter so that Deaf Bhutanese could finally speak with their doctors and caseworkers. He has since emerged as a leading voice in the Deaf Bhutanese-American community.
Bhawani tells this story simply, with warmth and wit.
More than 31 million people are currently refugees worldwide. Those with disabilities are among the most endangered and the least heard. Bhawani’s book is a rare exception — a Deaf refugee telling his own story, in his own words, on his own terms.
Readers’ Comments
“A deeply moving and insightful memoir, Down the Braided River illuminates the overlooked struggles and resilience of Deaf Bhutanese refugees through Bhawani Dangal’s extraordinary journey. It powerfully bridges cultures and identities, offering a rare and humanizing perspective on displacement, communication, and belonging.”
—Suraj Budathoki, New Hampshire State Representative, Co-Founder of Peace Initiative Bhutan
“Heartfelt thanks to Bhawani Dangal for sharing this powerful, moving story of resilience and courage: his happy childhood in Bhutan; his years in a refugee camp in Nepal; his migration to and resettlement in the USA. It is a story that offers countless insights, especially for those of us who have never been refugees, and who do not understand as well as we should what it really means to be Deaf.”
—Michael Hutt, Emeritus Professor of Nepali and Himalayan Studies, SOAS, University of London, author, Unbecoming Citizens: Culture, Nationhood, and the Flight of Refugees from Bhutan.
About the Authors
Julia Freeman-Woolpert lives in Concord, New Hampshire. She retired in 2018 from the New Hampshire Disability Rights Center where she spent her career advocating on behalf of people with disabilities. She holds a B.A. from Boston University and a M.Ed. from Antioch University. She has worked as a mentor and advocate for refugees for two decades, and with Deaf refugees since 2011. She has traveled throughout Nepal and India and spent a week in 2010 visiting the refugee camps in Nepal. In her spare time she loves to garden and travel the rest of the world.
Bhawani Dangal is a Deaf American citizen who arrived in the United States as a refugee from Bhutan in 2011. He is a deeply committed advocate and leader in the Deaf Bhutanese-American community, including working as a Nepali Sign Language to American Sign Language interpreter. He is a graduate of the prestigious Road to Deaf Interpreting program and has served in numerous educational and advocacy roles including serving on the Board of the Himalayan Foundation USA. He was a main organizer and keynote speaker at the first-ever World Deaf Refugee Day in 2021 and again in 2023. In 2015, he was featured as one of Concord TV’s “Most Fascinating Individuals.” He now lives in Pennsylvania and enjoys spending time with his wife and three sons.
