In the Shadow of the Mountain: A Memoir of Courage($6.23Value)

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“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. "Silvia Vasquez-Lavado is a warrior. Her incredibly warm voice reveals how she rose from the darkest moments of her life to become an inspiration and advocate for others. This book is a testament to the power of extraordinary vulnerability, empathy, and selflessness and a reaffirmation of the healing that comes from building a community. I'm in awe of her strength and courage that she has captured so beautifully in this memoir." ― Selena Gomez “Silvia Vasquez-Lavado is a woman possessed of uncommon strength, rare compassion, and a ferocious stubbornness to not allow the trauma of her childhood to destroy her life. In climbing the Seven Summits, she 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 "Vasquez-Lavado understands that 'we do not conquer Everest, just like we do not conquer trauma. Instead, we must yield ourselves to the chasms and unexpected avalanches.' And herein lies the wisdom of this work, aptly subtitled 'A Memoir of Courage': In a world that demands us to harden, to tell stories of strength and triumph, the bravest act can be embracing our inner child, our fears, our truths." ― Qian Julie Wang, author of New York Times bestseller Beautiful Country, for The New York Times "The first openly gay woman to complete the Seven Summits and the first Peruvian woman to summit Everest ― Vasquez-Lavado’s memoir is many things. It is an adventure saga of her ascent of Everest; a vulnerable meditation on her childhood in Peru; and the tale of an immigrant’s journey to the United States. Above all, the book is Vasquez-Lavado’s reclamation of the truth behind the stories and secrets she had to learn to bear early." ―The New York Times "The climax of the book ― and Vasquez-Lavado's voyage up the mountain ― brings a moment of resolve to all three battles at once in a tear-jerking, Hollywood ending." ― People "The book’s chapters alternate between her enthralling life’s journey and a nail-biting Mount Everest ascent." ― The Washington Post 's "10 noteworthy books for February" "It's that drive to escape, to defy, that eventually pushes her up the macho corporate ladder at Silicon Valley start-ups, into alcoholism, and then across continents as a thrill-seeker breaking boundaries with her bare hands." ― Sierra "This inspirational memoir about navigating trauma, healing relationships, finding community, and achieving self-acceptance delivers a raw and riveting reading experience." ― Booklist (Starred Review) "'In the Shadow of the Mountain' has all the elements a great memoir requires ― a strong voice, cinematic prose, a hero to root for ― in essence, an extraordinary story about an extraordinary woman’s life." ― The San Francisco Chronicle "Complex and compelling, Vasquez-Lavado’s quest to heal herself from the deep wounds of patriarchy is also a vibrantly feminist celebration of female resilience." ― Kirkus Reviews "Unlike mountaineering memoirs that celebrate the ego of the individual climber, Silvia Vasquez-Lavado’s story is intimately collaborative." ― Catherine Hollis for BookPage "Vasquez-Lavado details the child's perspective and the roots of her trauma