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sshenkin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
vickytx's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
4.5
lauraowen's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes all you can do is put one foot in front of the other and keep walking...
This is an honest, raw, and inspiring memoir showcasing the ups and downs of grief and the power of the outdoors.
Reading about Sarah’s trekking experiences as she tries to come to terms with her losses and decide on a direction for her life is both inspiring and funny in parts.
This is obviously written from the heart and although different to my usual style of book I am glad I picked it up.
This is an honest, raw, and inspiring memoir showcasing the ups and downs of grief and the power of the outdoors.
Reading about Sarah’s trekking experiences as she tries to come to terms with her losses and decide on a direction for her life is both inspiring and funny in parts.
This is obviously written from the heart and although different to my usual style of book I am glad I picked it up.
ccdunn's review against another edition
4.0
I did enjoy this memoir, especially as I read it in the correct Highland setting- Skye then Torridon. I found some parts a little repetitive but overall the story was interesting.
memydogandbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I went to see this author at the Wigtown book festival and have been really looking forward to reading her book since, as I too love hillwalking and being in nature. This was a lovely and inspiring memoir and one that has left me itching to get back out into the mountains of Scotland (not Kilimanjaro!). But first I should really learn to read a map instead of relying on others or my dog!
I’d recommend for anyone who enjoys reading about being in nature, the great outdoors or even just memoirs about how climbing hills/mountain can help heal someone’s soul when they’ve been through loss.
I’d recommend for anyone who enjoys reading about being in nature, the great outdoors or even just memoirs about how climbing hills/mountain can help heal someone’s soul when they’ve been through loss.
halfmanhalfbook's review against another edition
4.0
In the late 1990s, Sarah Jane Douglas lost her mother to the horrid disease that is breast cancer. Sarah was only 24 at the time and she felt very alone in the world. Even though she felt live giving up, she had promised her mother that she wouldn’t give up and would keep going. The shock of having to deal with the grief pushed her towards drink and drugs, but thankfully it didn’t consume her.
Her mother had been a single parent, the man she was going to marry, Gerry had died when on an expedition in the Himalayas shortly before they were supposed to be married. Sarah became a single parent too, having a son to one guy and then a second son to another partner, but neither relationship worked out and she relied on the support of her grandparents to fill in the gaps in her family life.
What carried her the most though was the love for the hills and mountains of her native Scotland. She sought solace in these hills, and they repaid her many times over. With various friends and family members, she conquered Monroe’s, headed to Africa to climb Kilimanjaro and embarked on a trip to Nepal with her new partner to take some of her mothers ashes to be with the man that she never married. Each of these small and large challenges gave her the strength to face her own diagnosis two decades later.
Douglas is not the most lyrical of writers, she writes in a matter of fact way with an honesty about the trials and tribulations that she has overcome by herself and with the support of family and partners. She takes inspiration from being outside and this has helped her cope with her tough and sometimes painful life because of decisions that she has made and things that have happened to her, this still manages to be an uplifting book.
Her mother had been a single parent, the man she was going to marry, Gerry had died when on an expedition in the Himalayas shortly before they were supposed to be married. Sarah became a single parent too, having a son to one guy and then a second son to another partner, but neither relationship worked out and she relied on the support of her grandparents to fill in the gaps in her family life.
What carried her the most though was the love for the hills and mountains of her native Scotland. She sought solace in these hills, and they repaid her many times over. With various friends and family members, she conquered Monroe’s, headed to Africa to climb Kilimanjaro and embarked on a trip to Nepal with her new partner to take some of her mothers ashes to be with the man that she never married. Each of these small and large challenges gave her the strength to face her own diagnosis two decades later.
Douglas is not the most lyrical of writers, she writes in a matter of fact way with an honesty about the trials and tribulations that she has overcome by herself and with the support of family and partners. She takes inspiration from being outside and this has helped her cope with her tough and sometimes painful life because of decisions that she has made and things that have happened to her, this still manages to be an uplifting book.
kingjason's review
5.0
What an incredible homage to a Mother! Sarah has had to deal with so much grief and all in a relatively short space of time, taking that many hits from life in one go makes grieving almost impossible. She gets herself into more trouble which adds more stress and pushes her very close to the edge. She needed to find a way out of the darkness and quickly. A cue for the mighty hills to step in and give her grief an outlet.
Being out and about walking in the hills is very therapeutic, alone with your thoughts, able to calmly think things through and being untethered from all those gadgets that cause stress in life. I work in IT and am lucky to have across the road from my work a common, lunchtime walks splashing through puddles can get me through some tough days. It's not just humans that feel this, the happiest my dog has ever looked is when up in the hills.
Sarah takes to hill walking big time, tackling the Munros, Kilimanjaro and the Himalayas. As she walks she tells the reader about her life, about her mum, grandparents, sons and loves. All her dark moments are put onto the page full of raw emotion. You start of this book not knowing who this person is but by the end you feel as if you've know her all your life.
This has been a wonderful book to read, I did invest myself emotionally big time and at the end of certain chapters I was left with a heavy lump in my chest. Near the end Sarah does a bit of investigating and I found myself on the edge of my seat, hoping that she would find the answers that she wanted. This book comes highly recommended by me, give it a read to see the magical healing that nature has.
Blog review with pictures: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2020/03/24/just-another-mountain-by-sarah-jane-douglas/
Being out and about walking in the hills is very therapeutic, alone with your thoughts, able to calmly think things through and being untethered from all those gadgets that cause stress in life. I work in IT and am lucky to have across the road from my work a common, lunchtime walks splashing through puddles can get me through some tough days. It's not just humans that feel this, the happiest my dog has ever looked is when up in the hills.
Sarah takes to hill walking big time, tackling the Munros, Kilimanjaro and the Himalayas. As she walks she tells the reader about her life, about her mum, grandparents, sons and loves. All her dark moments are put onto the page full of raw emotion. You start of this book not knowing who this person is but by the end you feel as if you've know her all your life.
This has been a wonderful book to read, I did invest myself emotionally big time and at the end of certain chapters I was left with a heavy lump in my chest. Near the end Sarah does a bit of investigating and I found myself on the edge of my seat, hoping that she would find the answers that she wanted. This book comes highly recommended by me, give it a read to see the magical healing that nature has.
Blog review with pictures: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2020/03/24/just-another-mountain-by-sarah-jane-douglas/
halfmanhalfbook's review
4.0
In the late 1990s, Sarah Jane Douglas lost her mother to the horrid disease that is breast cancer. Sarah was only 24 at the time and she felt very alone in the world. Even though she felt live giving up, she had promised her mother that she wouldn’t give up and would keep going. The shock of having to deal with the grief pushed her towards drink and drugs, but thankfully it didn’t consume her.
Her mother had been a single parent, the man she was going to marry, Gerry had died when on an expedition in the Himalayas shortly before they were supposed to be married. Sarah became a single parent too, having a son to one guy and then a second son to another partner, but neither relationship worked out and she relied on the support of her grandparents to fill in the gaps in her family life.
What carried her the most though was the love for the hills and mountains of her native Scotland. She sought solace in these hills, and they repaid her many times over. With various friends and family members, she conquered Monroe’s, headed to Africa to climb Kilimanjaro and embarked on a trip to Nepal with her new partner to take some of her mothers ashes to be with the man that she never married. Each of these small and large challenges gave her the strength to face her own diagnosis two decades later.
Douglas is not the most lyrical of writers, she writes in a matter of fact way with an honesty about the trials and tribulations that she has overcome by herself and with the support of family and partners. She takes inspiration from being outside and this has helped her cope with her tough and sometimes painful life because of decisions that she has made and things that have happened to her, this still manages to be an uplifting book.
Her mother had been a single parent, the man she was going to marry, Gerry had died when on an expedition in the Himalayas shortly before they were supposed to be married. Sarah became a single parent too, having a son to one guy and then a second son to another partner, but neither relationship worked out and she relied on the support of her grandparents to fill in the gaps in her family life.
What carried her the most though was the love for the hills and mountains of her native Scotland. She sought solace in these hills, and they repaid her many times over. With various friends and family members, she conquered Monroe’s, headed to Africa to climb Kilimanjaro and embarked on a trip to Nepal with her new partner to take some of her mothers ashes to be with the man that she never married. Each of these small and large challenges gave her the strength to face her own diagnosis two decades later.
Douglas is not the most lyrical of writers, she writes in a matter of fact way with an honesty about the trials and tribulations that she has overcome by herself and with the support of family and partners. She takes inspiration from being outside and this has helped her cope with her tough and sometimes painful life because of decisions that she has made and things that have happened to her, this still manages to be an uplifting book.
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