Veronique Renard - Pantau in India

2007, English, Interview, Netherlands, Veronique Renard,

Full title: "Pantau in India" by Veronique Renard. She is one of the most inspirational women for me.

If Eat Pray Love and The Alchemist had a smart, slightly eccentric Dutch cousin with a penchant for Buddhist philosophy and a flair for gogo-dancing in Bangkok nightclubs, she would be called Pantau. And she would be Veronique Renard. Pantau in India is not your average travel memoir. It’s a very funny as well as deeply sad book that reads like a detective story, not because there’s a murder, but because there’s a mystery: how to live a meaningful life when everything around you says you’re failing. Veronique Renard, a high-achieving career woman in the Netherlands, found herself at the edge of the abyss at the turn of the millennium. Overwhelmed by depression and disillusionment, she considered ending her life. But in her darkest moment, a mysterious inner voice spoke — no, commanded — “Stay alive, and become the happiest person in the world.” Spoiler alert: she listened.

And so begins the winding, mystical, and often hilarious tale of how Veronique traded her office cubicle for a spiritual odyssey through the Himalayas. Her journey took her deep into the heart of India, where she stumbled upon the Tibetan exile community, and into a role she never expected: helping preserve a culture and a cause that would forever transform her life. What started as a quest for personal healing quickly evolved into a deeper mission, bridging worlds, advocating for Tibetan freedom, and rediscovering herself in the rhythm of prayer wheels and mountain winds.

 

In her own words, from her interview with me, Veronique speaks as someone who no longer clings to external validation: “I create my own life. I would say I feel content and relaxed 95% of the time... Peace, simplicity, and nature are the key ingredients of my personal happiness.”

In 2013, Pantau in India isn’t just a book for women — it’s a book for anyone who has ever felt stuck, broken, or on the brink of giving up. Whether you're questioning your job, your relationships, or your reason to keep going, Veronique’s story is a warm, witty, and wise companion.  

 

As she told me, “My enemy has become my lover” — referring to how straight men once bullied her as a child, but later became admirers of her womanhood. That same transformation, from fear to freedom, pulses through every page of Pantau in India. Part spiritual memoir, part survival manual, and part accidental comedy, Pantau in India will leave you laughing through tears and booking a one-way ticket to wherever your heart needs to go.

Available via Amazon

and The Heroines of My Life

Photo via The Heroines of My Life

Other publications about Veronique Renard:

• Interview with Veronique Renard
  Born in Jutphaas, the Netherlands, on May 26, 1965, Véronique Françoise Caroline Renard is a woman of many layers, each as colorful and compelling as her art and words. A...