For Sharon Wood, the first North American woman to summit Mount听Everest, the world鈥檚 highest peak听feels a bit like an听鈥渙verbearing friend,鈥� as she writes in ($25, Douglas and听McIntyre), published in September. 鈥淚t has often preceded me, elbowed its way into rooms, sashayed across floors, cut swaths through conversations and embarrassed me.鈥� Wood deviates from a typical mountaineering narrative in her debut memoir. Instead of conquest, she frames her summit expedition in the context of relationships鈥攚ith her all-male team, with the other two teams sharing Base Camp (including her ex-boyfriend and the woman competing with Wood to reach the summit first), and with Everest itself.
Wood was 29听when she successfully climbed Everest in 1986. She ascended with teammate via the seldom-traveled听West Ridge, a dangerous route from the Tibet side. They were the only two from their ten-person team of elite alpinists to succeed鈥攁nd without Sherpa support. The feat thrust Wood into the media spotlight in a way she hadn鈥檛 anticipated. At the time, the professional mountain guide and instructor didn鈥檛 own a pair of high-heeled shoes. On her second day back home听in Canada, shell-shocked and slumped in the back seat of a taxi shuttling her between interviews, Wood recalls wondering, What have I done? After devoting the first half of her book to her fateful trip to the Himalayas, Wood spends the remainder of Rising describing the aftermath, including launching what she calls听鈥渁n accidental career鈥� as a听motivational听speaker,听getting married,听getting divorced,听and, after raising two children, rekindling her love of guiding.听
In both parts of the听memoir, Wood strives to answer tough questions鈥攁bout risk, reward, and her motivation to climb mountains鈥攚ith vulnerability and integrity. During the Everest expedition, she grapples with her place on the team: she doesn鈥檛 want special treatment as a woman, to be chosen over equally capable teammates for the summit bid in order to make history,听but she also doesn鈥檛 want to miss her chance. 鈥淭houghts throng in my head,鈥� Wood writes, describing her inner landscape during a team meeting at Camp II听to decide who will attempt the summit first. 鈥淸One teammate鈥檚] voice whispers, Take it! Another voice counters, Who said anything about it being your turn to take?鈥� Later in the book, Wood describes听her struggles with not only international acclaim听but guilt听for getting the chance to summit when others did not鈥攁nd听on top听of that, guilt for feeling anything but grateful.听
Wood鈥檚 fiercely honest prose is听finest when she鈥檚 narrating interactions between herself and her teammates on the mountain, like banter in the meal tent or one-on-one conversations while schlepping gear between high camps. She writes, 鈥淭he beauty of talking while walking on uneven ground is how we must keep our eyes on our feet and sometimes reveal more than we would when looking one another in the eye.鈥� She also lingers听on听little moments of camaraderie (and rivalry) that could be overlooked by a less ambitious writer. Wood innately understands that these intimate details听provide the truest account of expedition life.听
Each of Wood鈥檚 nine teammates, as well as team cook Jane Fearing and expedition leader Jim Elzinga, emerge as fully developed characters. Wood unfolds their backgrounds, motivations, and personal struggles alongside her own. But the one character Wood doesn鈥檛 fully develop is Everest.听
鈥淎s overbearing friends can be, Everest wanted this book to be about it,鈥� she writes. 鈥淏ut the mountain merely serves as a stage and a timeline for the real story.鈥� Wood refrains from recounting its history, mythology, geology, or meteorology听unless the information is critical to the action听or essential for setting听the mood听for the scene. While some Everest literature buffs may question how little ink Wood devotes to the world鈥檚 greatest peak, the omission supercharges the narrative鈥檚 pacing. I couldn鈥檛 put the book down.听
Part of Rising鈥檚 strength is the amount of time that has passed between when Wood summited Everest and when she wrote the book鈥攎ore than 30 years鈥攚hich allowed for deep reflection and great humility. When I asked听what took her so long to write her memoir, Wood explained, 鈥淚 wanted to write an Everest story I hadn鈥檛 already read.鈥澨�