In the Shadow of the Mountain: A Memoir of Courage
Book by Silvia Vasquez-Lavado
DETAILS
Publisher : Henry Holt and Co. (February 1, 2022) Language : English Hardcover : 320 pages ISBN-10 : 1250776740 ISBN-13 : 978-1250776747 Item Weight : 1.14 pounds Dimensions : 6.4 x 1.14 x 9.43 inches Best Sellers Rank: #56,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #40 in Mountain Climbing #194 in Traveler & Explorer Biographies #1,412 in Motivational Self-Help (Books) , “In climbing the Seven Summits, Silvia Vasquez-Lavado did nothing less than take back her own life―one brave step at a time. She will inspire untold numbers of souls with this story, for her victory is a win on behalf of all of us.”―Elizabeth Gilbert Endless ice. Thin air. The threat of dropping into nothingness thousands of feet below. This is the climb Silvia Vasquez-Lavado braves in her page-turning, pulse-raising memoir chronicling her journey to Mount Everest. A Latina hero in the elite macho tech world of Silicon Valley, privately, she was hanging by a thread. Deep in the throes of alcoholism, hiding her sexuality from her family, and repressing the abuse she’d suffered as a child, she started climbing. Something about the brute force required for the ascent―the risk and spirit and sheer size of the mountains and death’s close proximity―woke her up. She then took her biggest pain as a survivor to the biggest mountain: Everest. “The Mother of the World,” as it’s known in Nepal, allows few to reach her summit, but Silvia didn’t go alone. She gathered a group of young female survivors and led them to base camp alongside her. It was never easy. At times hair-raising, nerve-racking, and always challenging, Silvia remembers the acute anxiety of leading a group of novice climbers to Everest’s base, all the while coping with her own nerves of summiting. But, there were also moments of peace, joy, and healing with the strength of her fellow survivors and community propelling her forward. In the Shadow of the Mountain is a remarkable story of heroism, one which awakens in all of us a lust for adventure, an appetite for risk, and faith in our own resilience. Read more
REVIEW
First of all... WOMEN CLIMBERS AND MOUNTAINEERS ASSEMBLE! This is a book for you. This, and Vanessa O'Brien's "To the Greatest Heights", are the only books I know that will actually tell you what it's like to be a female climbing the planet's greatest mountains. This is not a small thing. It is not a small thing to be ignored by your expedition mates, or openly dissed, or have them tell you they'll take your tributes to the summit when you don't make it, or simply to be blatantly harassed. It's not a small thing to have the Conrad Ankers and Russell Brices of the world brush by you with no acknowledgement while they are high-fiving your male peers. It's also not a small thing that no one understands getting your period on a climb, even at 26,000 feet. Lavado-Vasquez arrives at Everest more than prepared for this misogyny (although, like so many of us, she may not feel at all prepared) after a childhood of horrifying sexual abuse (trigger warning...not easy stuff to read) and a painful journey to accepting her sexuality with great loss along the way. Not only has she survived her childhood, a very conservative, religious upbringing, AND coming out...not only is she not only trying to be the first Peruvian woman to summit.....not only is she one of the first if not the first openly queer women attempting the summit....she brings a group of girls on her Base Camp trek, all survivors of sex trafficking. Yeah, you read that right - Silvia takes these girls/women on a healing journey before tackling the tallest of the Seven Summits, and her priority is on their healing and not her summit bid. Is there a *lot* of biography in here? Yes, but it's essential to understanding the character and her quest. Every step she takes is informed by what came before. Honestly, it's FAR more interesting to hear an Everest story from someone who's lived Silvia's life than from the usual perspective of a very experienced, always male, climber, or from a newbie (also almost always male) who ran into major mountain drama and nabbed the book rights to match. Something I loved about this book that is is NOT gender-based is Lavado-Vasquez's unflinching and detailed story of exactly what it takes, step by step, to climb Everest. Usually Everest books go right to the big drama....but there is so much to learn in the small things, like how expeditions really work, what the Hilary Step really feels like, or how hard it can be to swap an oxygen tank that's half your body size. Reading this book, I felt that I was there (I have four of the Seven Summits, but not Everest, and was not planning it, but this woman inspired me, and now I am considering!). Be prepared for quite a bit of intense mother issues and spirituality around the mountain. Lots of pujas, flags, blessings, and self-examination (I hear the guys getting especially itchy here and all "euw chick stuff" but I implore you....please hang in....you need to get past your beanies and testosterone and understand that other folx are on the mountain with you). It can get a bit much but again...this is NOT a perspective we usually read. In fact, writing a fresh Everest book is HARD. This one is truly fresh, and truly brave. Thanks to Outside magazine for recommending this wonderful and inspiring read.
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