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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
Silvia Vasques-Lavado is known as "the first Peruvian woman to scale Mount Everest" - but as her memoir reveals, her life has been so much more.
"In the Shadow of the Mountain" is told across two alternating timelines, the first focusing on Vasquez-Lavado's attempt to scale Mount Everest with a group of female survivors. She covers not only the grueling and dangerous progression, and the life-threatening encounters they face on a daily (and even hourly) basis, but reveals each of the women's stories and the previous lives of abuse and trafficking they managed to escape in Indian and Nepal.
The second timeline covers Vasquez-Lavado's personal history, starting from when she was a child growing up Peru. Even from a young age, she experiences some truly terrible crimes, and is sexually abused by a close family friend and physically abused by her own father. Her few attempts to speak up are ignored or suppressed by her family - an infuriating, but all-too-common situation for girls to be in. When she gets older, she's able to escape to America, but once again finds herself in a dangerous environment working for an alcohol company, where she succumbs to alcoholism in attempt to fit in and work her way up the corporate ladder. Vasquez-Lavado also covers the difficult topics of discovering and accepting her own sexuality, made even murkier thanks to her childhood, and how grief and loss can both hinder and help the progress made.
This was such a fascinating and well-written read, and I applaud the vulnerability that Silvia Vasquez-Lavado displayed in sharing both her triumphs and her struggles with us.
"In the Shadow of the Mountain" is told across two alternating timelines, the first focusing on Vasquez-Lavado's attempt to scale Mount Everest with a group of female survivors. She covers not only the grueling and dangerous progression, and the life-threatening encounters they face on a daily (and even hourly) basis, but reveals each of the women's stories and the previous lives of abuse and trafficking they managed to escape in Indian and Nepal.
The second timeline covers Vasquez-Lavado's personal history, starting from when she was a child growing up Peru. Even from a young age, she experiences some truly terrible crimes, and is sexually abused by a close family friend and physically abused by her own father. Her few attempts to speak up are ignored or suppressed by her family - an infuriating, but all-too-common situation for girls to be in. When she gets older, she's able to escape to America, but once again finds herself in a dangerous environment working for an alcohol company, where she succumbs to alcoholism in attempt to fit in and work her way up the corporate ladder. Vasquez-Lavado also covers the difficult topics of discovering and accepting her own sexuality, made even murkier thanks to her childhood, and how grief and loss can both hinder and help the progress made.
This was such a fascinating and well-written read, and I applaud the vulnerability that Silvia Vasquez-Lavado displayed in sharing both her triumphs and her struggles with us.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Trafficking
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Silvia Vasquez-Lavado: Mountaineer! Survivor! Fighter! Daughter! Lover! Trail-blazer!
There is much one could say about Silvia Vasquez-Lavado. There is certainly a lot that she says about herself, and it's not all pretty. From the heart-wrenching traumas of her childhood, to realizations and trials related to her sexuality, career successes, social excesses, relationship struggles, and some growth. Vasquez-Lavado shares her story in detail, some of which is difficult to read and some that many likely find to be simply "over-sharing", but hey it's her book, her journey, and she never said she was going to give the sanitized sitcom version where they never show the characters eat or go to the bathroom - in this book you will get the nitty gritty details of an Everest ascent and of a rocky journey toward healing.
There is much one could say about Silvia Vasquez-Lavado. There is certainly a lot that she says about herself, and it's not all pretty. From the heart-wrenching traumas of her childhood, to realizations and trials related to her sexuality, career successes, social excesses, relationship struggles, and some growth. Vasquez-Lavado shares her story in detail, some of which is difficult to read and some that many likely find to be simply "over-sharing", but hey it's her book, her journey, and she never said she was going to give the sanitized sitcom version where they never show the characters eat or go to the bathroom - in this book you will get the nitty gritty details of an Everest ascent and of a rocky journey toward healing.
“As I stood looking out at the view, the answer was so clear I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it before. Everest was not about me. I wasn't supposed to be doing it alone. I wasn't supposed to be scaling mountains and staking my flag at their peaks like some modern-day conquistadora. It was about what I had to offer, what I had to give to a community--to women, to girls, like me. I had to keep my promise to climb Everest, but I was supposed to bring others with me. Other women like me. Survivors. That had been the message all along.”
This memoir does jump back and forth in time, which I think mostly works, but it wasn't always perfectly smooth and clear. There are some beliefs or proclamations that I wish were further explored/explained and a very few that could have been left out completely (does the brief explanation of "Type T" add much?). A little messy, not perfect, but it's a memoir of a real human, one that isn't perfect and is often a bit of a mess, but it's also a courageous telling full of perseverance and genuine heart.
This book is unbelievable. So unbearably good. The way she weaves together past and present is so skillful. Sometimes I had to put it down because it hurt to read, but I always needed to pick it up again as soon as I caught my breath.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Wow pretty much covers how I felt reading this entire book. Silvia is such an inspiration, and I adore her growth and ability to develop honesty with herself through the challenges she engaged in. I’ve been hit by her experiences and hope that she continues to find healing and love for her young self, as well as the person she is now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Suicide, Trafficking
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, Death of parent
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced