Book description
Drawing on interviews with many leading mountaineers or their survivors, Coffey goes beyond the typical climbing book to question the reasons why climbers risk their lives. The result is a powerful, affecting book that strips the romance from adventure and returns it to the human realm: the parents, spouses, children,…
Why read it?
2 authors picked Where the Mountain Casts Its Shadow as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Mountaineering attracts people of lionlike courage. What of the people who wait for them at home? When Maria Coffey started dating a climber, she found herself part of an exclusive club…and she soon needed them more than ever after her partner was lost in an accident. As she struggles through her bereavement she examines the adventuring nature, and the bravery needed to make a life with such a person.
All those who love adventure and mountains, as I do, are very aware of the risks. If you slip, you could fall and die. But who pays the price of these risks. It is often those who stay home with the children who pay the price of grief and suffer long-term traumas. Maria Coffey is the widow of an Everest climber and in her book, she interviews many other widows and children of deceased mountaineers and adventurers. It is written with honesty and brings home what the real risks of adventures are. This book is a must-read for everyone who…
From Tim's list on The best books about adventure, hiking, and survival.
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