Heaven Has No Ground

Heaven Has No Ground is the fierce, intimate story of Ama, a young woman who is reckoning with the death of her father when she receives her own cancer diagnosis and, contrary to the wishes of family and friends, decides to seek alternative treatments rather than conventional chemotherapy and radiation. While this book was published as a work of fiction to great acclaim in the Czech Republic, it follows very closely the life story of its author, Hana Andronikova, who wrote the book during a period of optimism in her own battle with breast cancer. Much like Hana, Ama travels the world to find guidance and healing—going to Peru to consult a shaman and receive the Amazon’s wisdom; to communities of Christian believers and Native Americans in the Nevada desert; and to the holy sites of Israel. Using striking metaphors and intensely emotional language in journal entries, emails, and narrative fragments, Andronikova takes us with her on a remarkable journey as she comes to grips with her human limitations and celebrates her place in the circle of life.