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Unbound: A Story of Snow and Self-Discovery – An Electrifying Journey from Corporate Success to Mountain Freedom and True Purpose
A young woman follows winter across five continents on a physical and spiritual journey that tests her body and soul, in this transformative memoir, full of heart and courage, that speaks to the adventurousness in all of us.
Steph Jagger had always been a force of nature. Dissatisfied with the passive, limited roles she saw for women growing up, she emulated the men in her life—chasing success, climbing the corporate ladder, ticking the boxes, playing by the rules of a masculine ideal. She was accomplished. She was living "The Dream." But it wasn't her dream.
Then the universe caught her attention with a sign: Raise Restraining Device. Steph had seen this ski lift sign on countless occasions in the past, but the familiar words suddenly became a personal call to shake off the life she had built in a search for something different, something more.
Steph soon decided to walk away from the success and security she had worked long and hard to obtain. She quit her job, took a second mortgage on her house, sold everything except her ski equipment and her laptop, and bought a bundle of plane tickets. For the next year, she followed winter across North and South America, Asia, Europe, and New Zealand—and up and down the mountains of nine countries—on a mission to ski four million vertical feet in a year.
What hiking was for Cheryl Strayed, skiing became for Steph: a crucible in which to crack open her life and get to the very center of herself. But she would have to break herself down—first physically, then emotionally—before she could start to rebuild. And it was through this journey that she came to understand how to be a woman, how to love, and how to live authentically.
Electrifying, heartfelt, and full of humor, Unbound is Steph’s story—an odyssey of courage and self-discovery that, like Wild and Eat, Pray, Love, will inspire readers to remove their own restraining devices and pursue the life they are meant to lead.
Steph Jagger had always been a force of nature. Dissatisfied with the passive, limited roles she saw for women growing up, she emulated the men in her life—chasing success, climbing the corporate ladder, ticking the boxes, playing by the rules of a masculine ideal. She was accomplished. She was living "The Dream." But it wasn't her dream.
Then the universe caught her attention with a sign: Raise Restraining Device. Steph had seen this ski lift sign on countless occasions in the past, but the familiar words suddenly became a personal call to shake off the life she had built in a search for something different, something more.
Steph soon decided to walk away from the success and security she had worked long and hard to obtain. She quit her job, took a second mortgage on her house, sold everything except her ski equipment and her laptop, and bought a bundle of plane tickets. For the next year, she followed winter across North and South America, Asia, Europe, and New Zealand—and up and down the mountains of nine countries—on a mission to ski four million vertical feet in a year.
What hiking was for Cheryl Strayed, skiing became for Steph: a crucible in which to crack open her life and get to the very center of herself. But she would have to break herself down—first physically, then emotionally—before she could start to rebuild. And it was through this journey that she came to understand how to be a woman, how to love, and how to live authentically.
Electrifying, heartfelt, and full of humor, Unbound is Steph’s story—an odyssey of courage and self-discovery that, like Wild and Eat, Pray, Love, will inspire readers to remove their own restraining devices and pursue the life they are meant to lead.
295 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 24, 2017
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2299 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 140 reviews
February 27, 2017
My husband and I listened to this on audio while road tripping across the US on our own ski adventure. We had heard about this book and thought it'd be a great way for us to get amped for the mountains. Unfortunately, this memoir is light on the snow and ski stories and heavy on the self-discovery mumbo-jumbo. Jagger's quest to ski 4 million vertical feet in 10 months feels like a thin excuse or afterthought for the greater focus on "finding herself." I felt like with all her travels and the awesome ski resorts she visited, I came away with very little actual knowledge about any of these places and cultures.
I know that any book with this type of premise (i.e. "WIld") is bound to have its share of personal reasons and revelations scattered throughout the book.
In "Unbound", however, these sections totally take over and we frequently lose the journey framework altogether. More than that, Jagger's issues and transformation are jumbled, unclear, and cliched. She piles on metaphor after metaphor. I've never heard anyone use so many metaphors ever. It drove my husband and I crazy. At the end of the book, I still didn't understand what Jagger "learned" from her trip, despite her endless talking about it.
I would not recommend this to another ski enthusiast or someone looking for a personal quest memoir. Last year I read Juliana Buhring's "This Road I Ride" and it is a much better version of this genre. What's more, while Jagger unofficially holds the record for most vertical feet, Buhring actually did the strenuous legwork to track her cycling trip across the globe and is Guinness certified.
I know that any book with this type of premise (i.e. "WIld") is bound to have its share of personal reasons and revelations scattered throughout the book.
In "Unbound", however, these sections totally take over and we frequently lose the journey framework altogether. More than that, Jagger's issues and transformation are jumbled, unclear, and cliched. She piles on metaphor after metaphor. I've never heard anyone use so many metaphors ever. It drove my husband and I crazy. At the end of the book, I still didn't understand what Jagger "learned" from her trip, despite her endless talking about it.
I would not recommend this to another ski enthusiast or someone looking for a personal quest memoir. Last year I read Juliana Buhring's "This Road I Ride" and it is a much better version of this genre. What's more, while Jagger unofficially holds the record for most vertical feet, Buhring actually did the strenuous legwork to track her cycling trip across the globe and is Guinness certified.
April 17, 2020
I tried, but this book is awful. She's a terrible sorry teller that doesn't know how to use the word fuck and tries too hard to be witty. Also by acknowledging your privilege, as she does many times, that doesn't remove it. This book is dripping with attempts to hide that she's yet anther person who did something awesome but had a huge safety net and springboard. Hooray.
Not inspiring or even interesting.
Not inspiring or even interesting.
February 7, 2017
While I loved the concept of 'Wild', I was left sorely disappointed after forcing myself to finish it. 'Unbound' finally quenched that thirst I was left with, to live vicariously through someone brave enough to embark on a crazy adventure all while discovering and learning things about themselves most are never able to learn in a lifetime. Steph Jagger's humor combined with brutal honesty was the perfect mixture to keep me up until the wee hours of the night to read 'just one more page!!' Her portrayal of the people she met and places she visited made me feel like I was actually there, taking everything in right beside her. It's very refreshing to find a book where the adventure did NOT initiate on a personal tragedy or crisis.....because it means there is a lot less whining to endure throughout the pages.
August 18, 2018
I was excited to read this book because a woman skiing 4 million vertical feet sounded like a premise I could get behind. Unfortunately, this book is heavy on the "finding yourself" aspect and very light on the ski journey. I still don't understand what transformation she made or what discovery she made. I guess that she became a less rigid person? Overall, it came across entitled and hard to relate to as a transformation story.
September 13, 2017
I couldn't get past chapter 4 when she called sex trade workers "ladies of the night" and alluded to her hustle to save $$ to go on a skiing trip as almost like prostitution? give me a fucking break.
November 25, 2019
Alternative titles include "Warren Miller meets 'Eat, Pray, Love' or 'White privilege meets Millennial Self-absorption,' or even, 'Discovering the Universe really does revolve around me.'" Not to say that I didn't enjoy this book, and it doesn't advertise to be anything other than what it is. The first part of the book was more relatable. Her struggles with being ultra competitive and not knowing how to be strong without dismissing her femininity are not uncommon among women not adhering to traditional feminine roles. I got a little lost with her goat vs tiger metaphor, as I'm still not sure what those really mean to her. Her writing style is fun and interesting, but starts to feel a little frivolous with all of her "universe" talk. (I recommend looking up Amy Schumer's skit on how white women love the universe). The only real adversity in the book is finding out that New Zealand ski resorts are not as plush as those in the Italian Alps. Her love story was sweet and beautiful, but probably not destined by the universe. But it's great she feels that way. Overall a fun read.
March 19, 2017
Good read. Steph comes from a country I am deeply in love with (Canada) and definitely has that Canadian sense of humor, which I simply adore. With lots of funny metaphors and few cursing words, she takes us on her ski adventure around the world. Soon, her chase for yet another record and title becomes much more.
Truth to be told, as someone who reads quite a lot of travel non-fiction, I was super happy about a story of self-discovery happening in the snow. Very refreshing after heaps of books that come out every year whose authors ran away to the (usually South East Asian) beaches and did a bit of yoga to decide who they are. Kudos to you, Steph, because chasing winter is so much harder than chasing summer. Also, thank you for discovering Bariloche to me. Argentina is now high on my list. So is Jackson hole.
However, I decided not to give five stars. Even though I love when personal stories and realizations compliment the travel story, I got pissed off at some point. My first rolleye was when she was riding that lift with her dead grandfather. Now, though I do believe that people who died stay with us, I really couldn't help myself with not liking the fact that her grandpa was there on that lift for an entire week. Come on. Every day of that week.
Next thing that irked me a bit was Chris whispering to her vagina. So over the top. Not because it is sexual but because... I guess Chris can read minds or something. Moment that was supposed to be "too deep" and I just couldn't help but feeling it was... Well, fake.
And then (though I like Chris, I swear I do) that dream with Chris taking his hood of and then her stating it has been him, all her life that she was dreaming of, as he was walking towards her. No. No. NO. So unconvincing. Sorry.
To conclude the whole thing: yes, worth reading, but be vary of these few deep-transcendent-eatpraylove-wearesodeep moments.
Truth to be told, as someone who reads quite a lot of travel non-fiction, I was super happy about a story of self-discovery happening in the snow. Very refreshing after heaps of books that come out every year whose authors ran away to the (usually South East Asian) beaches and did a bit of yoga to decide who they are. Kudos to you, Steph, because chasing winter is so much harder than chasing summer. Also, thank you for discovering Bariloche to me. Argentina is now high on my list. So is Jackson hole.
However, I decided not to give five stars. Even though I love when personal stories and realizations compliment the travel story, I got pissed off at some point. My first rolleye was when she was riding that lift with her dead grandfather. Now, though I do believe that people who died stay with us, I really couldn't help myself with not liking the fact that her grandpa was there on that lift for an entire week. Come on. Every day of that week.
Next thing that irked me a bit was Chris whispering to her vagina. So over the top. Not because it is sexual but because... I guess Chris can read minds or something. Moment that was supposed to be "too deep" and I just couldn't help but feeling it was... Well, fake.
And then (though I like Chris, I swear I do) that dream with Chris taking his hood of and then her stating it has been him, all her life that she was dreaming of, as he was walking towards her. No. No. NO. So unconvincing. Sorry.
To conclude the whole thing: yes, worth reading, but be vary of these few deep-transcendent-eatpraylove-wearesodeep moments.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 8, 2024
Every person who goes on a quest goes through some kind of transformation, and my opinion of this book is not about Steph's spiritual & personal transformation.
I enjoyed the journey she took me on until it turned into a romantic story accompanied with some new agey themes. When I started the book, I thought it would be more about the athletic and physical challenge she set for herself, not so much what it turned into. The goal she set for herself, and her reaction to the outcome were sort of disappointing. Someone else said in the reviews that it was similar to Eat, Pray, Love and Wild, and I'd agree.
The way she told her story was entertaining to listen to (audiobook). I enjoyed the metaphors, how she explained her role in her family and how that changed. That was relatable. The ending felt incomplete with several doors left open. Maybe there is another book, but it wasn't enough for me to want to invest my time into reading it to know what happened.
I enjoyed the journey she took me on until it turned into a romantic story accompanied with some new agey themes. When I started the book, I thought it would be more about the athletic and physical challenge she set for herself, not so much what it turned into. The goal she set for herself, and her reaction to the outcome were sort of disappointing. Someone else said in the reviews that it was similar to Eat, Pray, Love and Wild, and I'd agree.
The way she told her story was entertaining to listen to (audiobook). I enjoyed the metaphors, how she explained her role in her family and how that changed. That was relatable. The ending felt incomplete with several doors left open. Maybe there is another book, but it wasn't enough for me to want to invest my time into reading it to know what happened.
April 17, 2022
I love when a memoir speaks of universal truths and the common human experience, when the story makes you examine your life and your truths. This one does just that. I will never go on an epic ski trip, but I can relate to being a goddess and a warrior all in one.
December 7, 2023
Sososososo good. A relatable struggle to figure out who we are in the world through the tools given to us by others. No matter how well they work.
March 27, 2024
This one is gonna stick with me forever.
November 15, 2025
4.2 - a quick inspiring read that I am glad I waited a bit to crack open. It is timely with my current 3-yr itch. Left me with some self reflection and additional reading material.
highlights:
"True resilience is found in our ability to get up, to create space for a message we may not want to hear, to listen like you've never listened before, and then to act on that message - even if that means changing the way we've been hurtling down our path in life for decades."
"Our growth depends on how we look at the not-beautiful."
"We don't find out who we are in the flat, study, featureless parts of our lives. We find out who we are when we're pinned between rooks and hard places, when we're set loose on steep slopes- a test to see if, once and for all, we'll break free and ski our own line."
"Our courage is not found in the words 'I finished' but in the words 'I started.'"
highlights:
"True resilience is found in our ability to get up, to create space for a message we may not want to hear, to listen like you've never listened before, and then to act on that message - even if that means changing the way we've been hurtling down our path in life for decades."
"Our growth depends on how we look at the not-beautiful."
"We don't find out who we are in the flat, study, featureless parts of our lives. We find out who we are when we're pinned between rooks and hard places, when we're set loose on steep slopes- a test to see if, once and for all, we'll break free and ski our own line."
"Our courage is not found in the words 'I finished' but in the words 'I started.'"
February 28, 2017
A heady adventure that armchair skiiers and travelers will enjoy and that women will easily cheer on as they read.
Stephanie Jagger sets out to prove to her family and to herself that she is really one of them - as tough, as driven, and as physically and mentally capable as any of the men, more than equal to them. Her plan is to ski 4 million feet downhill in a year, and in five continents. She succeeds but changes in the process, finding her own self worth independent of her family.
Stephanie Jagger sets out to prove to her family and to herself that she is really one of them - as tough, as driven, and as physically and mentally capable as any of the men, more than equal to them. Her plan is to ski 4 million feet downhill in a year, and in five continents. She succeeds but changes in the process, finding her own self worth independent of her family.
March 24, 2017
I've been looking for a book like Unbound for a long time. There was something that Born to Run and Wild did for me that I couldn't find again until I read Unbound.
Life always seems like there is an order to things. Graduate, get a job, get married, and have babies. And although all of those are adventures, life is more than that. It's about discovering who you are, becoming who you were always meant to be, and living life freely. Mainly, it's about achieving the ultimate goal - being happy.
Steph's passion for skiing is not something I would want to go for as far as a year long goal but it is inspiring. I kind of understood how Steph had so many naysayers before she actually went on her trip around the world but I mainly thought, "Why not?" Leaving everything behind to do something you love? That's something everyone wants to get a chance at doing. And maybe that's why people decide not to take the risks Steph made. It just seems impossible. There is too much to worry about. But Steph's personality pushes against the norm and she takes the leap. In Unbound, Steph's story challenges those who read it to push against the order that life mapped out for you.
"... the message of my generation was to dream big. We were the little girls who were told we could go on to do anything and become anyone we wanted. I found this to be confusing when I looked at the women around me, when I looked at my mother. Were they dreaming big? Were they doing anything and becoming anyone they wanted?"
If you compared me to Steph you would see complete opposites. When I was reading about how her mother used to be more wild but she changed after she discovered rules and consequences, I thought that was me. I have had this restraining device over me of what I can't and can't do. That's what really made Unbound so relatable for me and I'm sure it will feel the same way for others.
Steph's adventure into skiing around the world is filled with excitement, tears, stubbornness, and unexpectedly - love. The people she met, the places she skied, and the memories she made left me leaving satisfied and expecting more out of myself. The love part felt totally out of left field but I was dying to know what became of it. Steph's personality could feel very like that one person who's always trying to win everything. She could be competitive, strong, and honest but could also be vulnerable as she tries to discover where she fits into the world. Although Steph is completely different from me, I enjoyed her perspective and how she took on the world.
Unbound is a story for those readers that want to go on a journey after finishing the last page. For those who want to be inspired to take the leap they've been waiting years to do or the one they just thought of yesterday.
Life always seems like there is an order to things. Graduate, get a job, get married, and have babies. And although all of those are adventures, life is more than that. It's about discovering who you are, becoming who you were always meant to be, and living life freely. Mainly, it's about achieving the ultimate goal - being happy.
Steph's passion for skiing is not something I would want to go for as far as a year long goal but it is inspiring. I kind of understood how Steph had so many naysayers before she actually went on her trip around the world but I mainly thought, "Why not?" Leaving everything behind to do something you love? That's something everyone wants to get a chance at doing. And maybe that's why people decide not to take the risks Steph made. It just seems impossible. There is too much to worry about. But Steph's personality pushes against the norm and she takes the leap. In Unbound, Steph's story challenges those who read it to push against the order that life mapped out for you.
"... the message of my generation was to dream big. We were the little girls who were told we could go on to do anything and become anyone we wanted. I found this to be confusing when I looked at the women around me, when I looked at my mother. Were they dreaming big? Were they doing anything and becoming anyone they wanted?"
If you compared me to Steph you would see complete opposites. When I was reading about how her mother used to be more wild but she changed after she discovered rules and consequences, I thought that was me. I have had this restraining device over me of what I can't and can't do. That's what really made Unbound so relatable for me and I'm sure it will feel the same way for others.
Steph's adventure into skiing around the world is filled with excitement, tears, stubbornness, and unexpectedly - love. The people she met, the places she skied, and the memories she made left me leaving satisfied and expecting more out of myself. The love part felt totally out of left field but I was dying to know what became of it. Steph's personality could feel very like that one person who's always trying to win everything. She could be competitive, strong, and honest but could also be vulnerable as she tries to discover where she fits into the world. Although Steph is completely different from me, I enjoyed her perspective and how she took on the world.
Unbound is a story for those readers that want to go on a journey after finishing the last page. For those who want to be inspired to take the leap they've been waiting years to do or the one they just thought of yesterday.
January 14, 2018
I had been interested in reading this for ages but didn't get around to it quite yet, unsure how it would go. So many books of female adventurers have inspired me but also felt disconnected from my own experience or possibility I was worried it would be like this, like Wild, which I enjoyed, but didn't really connect with. But man, this book. Steph Jagger could have been talking from my own experience so many times --- from how I looked at the female models of success in my life while growing up, to feeling that sense of bored dissatisfaction with the life I was supposed to want, to doing hard things to reconnect with the inspiration within. I LOVED This book and I'm already looking to re read it more carefully, with highlighter in hand. Thanks for this book, Steph.
September 6, 2017
This is a tough genre to stand out in after Wild got published. I enjoyed the premise of trying to ski 4 million vertical feet in a year. It's ambitious, it's interesting, and the author comes to some big personal "aha" moments along the way about being yourself while being female. That said, the writing didn't really grab me, and there wasn't quite as much depth to the narrative as I was expecting. I'd recommend Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube for a similar feminist-in-cold-weather-soul-searching theme, but with more thoughtfulness and better writing in my opinion.
January 8, 2017
Love love loved this book and the way Steph Jagger writes - it's honest, witty and completely captivating. I literally could not put this book down. Even though I'm not a skier, it didn't matter because I loved reading about every aspect of Steph's journey and was right there with her as the mountains broke her down and put her right back together again.
August 18, 2024
Unbound is a re-read for me and with this being the second time around, I decided to listen to it on audiobook. It was the first book I’ve ever l listened to and I feel like I enjoyed it more when I actually read it. That said, I find it to be an enjoyable story about a journey of self-discovery, something that I admittedly have a soft spot for.
January 15, 2023
An interesting read. It’s really about a journey of self-discovery and letting old paradigms and projections go, but is also, incidentally, about skiing 4 million vertical feet over ten months on a trip around the world. And about falling in love. If the first third of the book had as many swear words (and not light ones) as the last third of the book, I probably would have set it down. But the swearing started slow. I am always curious why writers who have a whole world of vocabulary at their fingertips, and are by no means ill-read or lacking in understanding, swear so much. It isn’t really funny. It doesn’t make a good joke, or make frustrating or crazy situations funnier. I don’t get it. Probably she just wanted to be true to what actually was in her head and came out of her mouth at certain points in her narrative, but still, it felt overused.
Quotes:
This, at the beginning, about finding the first crack in her armor, right after she relates that the journey you set out on is not always the journey you end up with.
“Every grand adventure is better with a few war stories, a badge or two of honor for the victor. But perhaps that’s what I was most naive about. All of the above were mere mishaps, trite challenges, and situations in which I could easily prove my bravado and maintain a sense of control. It was the latter that hadn’t occurred to me: the possibility that I might lose exactly that—control—especially in the way I was losing it now. It was a conundrum that even the strongest piece of duct tape couldn’t solve, and let me tell you, I packed a fair bit of duct tape in the event of conundrums.” (3)
“Because I didn’t want to renovate myself; I didn’t want to bring in. The wrecking ball, knock down walls, and expose the core of who I was. I didn’t want to rewrite the electrical, I didn’t want to reroute the heating ducts, and good lord save me now, I didn’t want to know if there was a crack in the foundation. It was so much easier to get a new throw cushion or two, maybe put a scented candle in the corner. It was so much easier to get up, collect my gear, and keep driving, pretending this never happened.
Here’s the other thing I didn’t know then, that I know now: the Universe doesn’t care if you’re not interested in change. Because as much as we might think we’re in charge, we’re not. The Universe is the true foreman, in charge of the renovation and the demolition that comes before it. Ignoring it won’t help. If you don’t open the door at first, it will just keep knocking. Its gentle taps will become louder, and if you don’t heed the call, it will bang on the wall, and if you ignore all the banging, it will bring out a crowbar and pry you out, no matter how many hideously tacky throw cushions you’ve piled around yourself.” (126-127).
This resonated with me.
Quotes:
This, at the beginning, about finding the first crack in her armor, right after she relates that the journey you set out on is not always the journey you end up with.
“Every grand adventure is better with a few war stories, a badge or two of honor for the victor. But perhaps that’s what I was most naive about. All of the above were mere mishaps, trite challenges, and situations in which I could easily prove my bravado and maintain a sense of control. It was the latter that hadn’t occurred to me: the possibility that I might lose exactly that—control—especially in the way I was losing it now. It was a conundrum that even the strongest piece of duct tape couldn’t solve, and let me tell you, I packed a fair bit of duct tape in the event of conundrums.” (3)
“Because I didn’t want to renovate myself; I didn’t want to bring in. The wrecking ball, knock down walls, and expose the core of who I was. I didn’t want to rewrite the electrical, I didn’t want to reroute the heating ducts, and good lord save me now, I didn’t want to know if there was a crack in the foundation. It was so much easier to get a new throw cushion or two, maybe put a scented candle in the corner. It was so much easier to get up, collect my gear, and keep driving, pretending this never happened.
Here’s the other thing I didn’t know then, that I know now: the Universe doesn’t care if you’re not interested in change. Because as much as we might think we’re in charge, we’re not. The Universe is the true foreman, in charge of the renovation and the demolition that comes before it. Ignoring it won’t help. If you don’t open the door at first, it will just keep knocking. Its gentle taps will become louder, and if you don’t heed the call, it will bang on the wall, and if you ignore all the banging, it will bring out a crowbar and pry you out, no matter how many hideously tacky throw cushions you’ve piled around yourself.” (126-127).
This resonated with me.
March 20, 2017
This was supposed to be the heir to Wild, which is one of my favorite books, and I suppose it is in flavor. Steph Jagger's writing unfortunately doesn't have the profound, nuanced wisdom of a Cheryl Strayed or Elizabeth Gilbert; however, her story and accomplishments are still quite compelling, and this will satisfy anyone looking for a book about adventure. I didn't know a lot about mountain skiing before I read this book and I learned quite a bit about it by the end. It's a brutal sport and one that requires an incredible amount of endurance. There's also a seductive luxury to it - no one can ski that way without a fair amount of money to access - so that certainly beefs up the fantasy inherent in this book's plot.
The more important lesson of Unbound of course is about the personal development Steph goes through; by quitting her office job (and her expectations of what her life is supposed to be), Steph learns a lot about who she really is, what she really wants, and especially about letting go of expectations and preconceived notions. This is where her writing suffers a little - I got the point but it felt a little trite the way these ideas were presented. However it is clear that they are presented in earnest, and the point gets across.
This was an easy weekend read and would be good for a vacation book or a palatable break in between more serious fare. If you like inspiring stories of women who accomplish great feats, soul searching, or just general personal growth, Unbound is for you.
The more important lesson of Unbound of course is about the personal development Steph goes through; by quitting her office job (and her expectations of what her life is supposed to be), Steph learns a lot about who she really is, what she really wants, and especially about letting go of expectations and preconceived notions. This is where her writing suffers a little - I got the point but it felt a little trite the way these ideas were presented. However it is clear that they are presented in earnest, and the point gets across.
This was an easy weekend read and would be good for a vacation book or a palatable break in between more serious fare. If you like inspiring stories of women who accomplish great feats, soul searching, or just general personal growth, Unbound is for you.
August 19, 2020
I should start by saying I am not a skiing person, have never skied probably and never will, so I probably didn’t ‘get’ this book. I wanted to read something about women in the outdoors and women in sport and this book, at first glance, ticked both those boxes.
I enjoyed Steph’s journey, but did she? It seemed like other than meeting Chris, which was lovely, and realising that she was a woman (how she had managed to ignore that for 27 years is beyond me) she went on a glorified holiday. The only bit that was genuinely exciting for me was when she realised that she could break the world record, and I was disappointed (in terms of the story, I think Steph did the right thing to stop) when she didn’t break it.
Autobiographies are stories in the same way that novels are, they have to captivate their audience. Steph’s story apparently needed a paragraph on how tipex works, her publishers must have been really scrabbling to keep that it. Some heavy editing could have got the book down to 200 pages, which would have been better, and I wanted to hear more about Steph’s other travels. I would have gained more from that than the repetitive sections where she hallucinated tigers or her grandfather talking to her. Very all over the place and made my English brain cringe at how spiritual it was. Less about rams (what was that convoluted metaphor about? Why did she keep bringing that up?) and more about actually skiing.
I enjoyed Steph’s journey, but did she? It seemed like other than meeting Chris, which was lovely, and realising that she was a woman (how she had managed to ignore that for 27 years is beyond me) she went on a glorified holiday. The only bit that was genuinely exciting for me was when she realised that she could break the world record, and I was disappointed (in terms of the story, I think Steph did the right thing to stop) when she didn’t break it.
Autobiographies are stories in the same way that novels are, they have to captivate their audience. Steph’s story apparently needed a paragraph on how tipex works, her publishers must have been really scrabbling to keep that it. Some heavy editing could have got the book down to 200 pages, which would have been better, and I wanted to hear more about Steph’s other travels. I would have gained more from that than the repetitive sections where she hallucinated tigers or her grandfather talking to her. Very all over the place and made my English brain cringe at how spiritual it was. Less about rams (what was that convoluted metaphor about? Why did she keep bringing that up?) and more about actually skiing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2017
Finished this one today, and it was just ok. I really liked "Eat, Pray, Love" and "Wild" and was hoping this would carry that theme, and it just didn't measure up in my humble opinion. I believe she probably read one of those books or something and felt she should do a journey of her own but I really wasn't all that impressed with the story of her journey. I'm sure it was profound for her but to an outsider she just skied a lot and flaunted that she met a lot of rich people. I also didn't relate to her saying she felt she had to act like a man to live in a man's world talk, and I work with ex-military men. I think she is misunderstanding being competitive with being a manly. You can be competitive and still be a woman. She gave no examples of where she felt she had to do this other than she felt she wasn't like her mother so she acted like her father. It all felt very #firstworldproblems that she didn't fit into her family so she had to leave it all to find herself. She is not a strong writer so it was overloaded with unnecessary metaphors. I'm glad this journey helped her but I guess it would have helped to know more about her actual life that she was escaping other than her family that she seemed to be living in the past. Glad she enjoyed the journey, but not worthy of writing a book about it.
April 5, 2025
-Her story telling skills are good at times
-I can relate to the losing who you are when you’re just trying to prove who you THINK you are
-her use of examples and imagery make this easier to grasp than those bullshit self help books
-makes me want to ski so badly lol
-wish there was more focus on the actual skiing and culture
-solo traveling like that as a woman is impressive no matter what
-she pissed me off but were those her human aspects that I probably do too?
-she’s incredible privileged, but I guess she knows she is? She still felt incredible “pick me” at times
-loved her love story, was beautiful
-the lesson that stuck with me more than the bullshit teetering-universal-self help nonsense: we both had the same realizations in life about how so many of us women are taught that femininity is something to be ashamed of. But no, I will beat most men down that hill skiing and wear pink while I do it. That part I was really supportive of and felt seen with
-I can relate to the losing who you are when you’re just trying to prove who you THINK you are
-her use of examples and imagery make this easier to grasp than those bullshit self help books
-makes me want to ski so badly lol
-wish there was more focus on the actual skiing and culture
-solo traveling like that as a woman is impressive no matter what
-she pissed me off but were those her human aspects that I probably do too?
-she’s incredible privileged, but I guess she knows she is? She still felt incredible “pick me” at times
-loved her love story, was beautiful
-the lesson that stuck with me more than the bullshit teetering-universal-self help nonsense: we both had the same realizations in life about how so many of us women are taught that femininity is something to be ashamed of. But no, I will beat most men down that hill skiing and wear pink while I do it. That part I was really supportive of and felt seen with
December 19, 2019
Listened to the audio version. I'm not even a skier and I enjoyed this book. Steph has some great realizations that she shares throughout her 4 million ft journey. I like the way she writes, you can feel her personality come through. With all her little jokes and pointing things out. I loved it.
I like her connections to her moms hat and her dads shoes. And the vagina worshiping made me giggle. It comes with a deep ephiniay so it's also serious, but the awkwardness is hilarious.
The descriptions were perfect if you ask me. I felt like I could imagine her story the whole way through. Not a huge fan of how it turns into a love story but it makes sense cause that's the way it played out for her.
This book probably isn't for everyone. But right when she started with the ribbons and awards and goals be checked off, I immediately knew I'd enjoy the journey with her.
I like her connections to her moms hat and her dads shoes. And the vagina worshiping made me giggle. It comes with a deep ephiniay so it's also serious, but the awkwardness is hilarious.
The descriptions were perfect if you ask me. I felt like I could imagine her story the whole way through. Not a huge fan of how it turns into a love story but it makes sense cause that's the way it played out for her.
This book probably isn't for everyone. But right when she started with the ribbons and awards and goals be checked off, I immediately knew I'd enjoy the journey with her.
October 2, 2017
This was a wonderful book. It was about the author discovering who she is through a ski trip following winter around the world. The author felt that her life was good, but needed to bump things up another notch to challenge herself. She chose to do this through following winter around the world and skiing 4,000,000 vertical miles. The trip started out simple enough with some relatively easy hiccups. Once the trip really got going she discovered that this trip was about so much more than trying to ski 4,000,000 vertical miles. This trip was actually about discovering who she is as a complete person (warrior and goddess). The writing is authentic and the pacing is great. There is equal parts humor and honesty about what transpired during this momentous journey.
November 19, 2017
I really wanted to like this book. I love travel memoirs, I love skiing, and here was a travel memoir about skiing!
But instead of describing the mountains and the places she visited and the people she met along the way (which is what I want from a good travel memoir), the majority of the book was spent by the author using way too many metaphors to describe her evolution from a goat to a tiger to a Though the skiing sounds amazing, I could only roll my eyes at the rest of it.
But it get two stars instead of one because I did learn about Bariloche.
But instead of describing the mountains and the places she visited and the people she met along the way (which is what I want from a good travel memoir), the majority of the book was spent by the author using way too many metaphors to describe her evolution from a goat to a tiger to a Though the skiing sounds amazing, I could only roll my eyes at the rest of it.
But it get two stars instead of one because I did learn about Bariloche.
May 22, 2018
Loved this story of self-exploration, travel and discovery (with a nice helping of love story) about a female skier who takes a trip around the world to ski a goal amount of mileage. In the memoir, Jagger talks about her life of “goals” and her inner narrative that success and self-worth are measured in the achievement of arbitrary goals we set because of the messages sent to us by family, society or our perfectionist selves. Needless to say, she becomes “Un-Bound.” This is a good inspirational rom-com in the ilk of Cheryl Strayed’s “Wild” or Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat, Pray, Love.” I had been on a reading break and this book caught my attention and lit a page-turning fire beneath me again :).
October 27, 2021
I was really excited when I came across this book, I’m already a fan of skiing, so that aspect of the book I thought would be relatable and I thought this would be a story of a grand adventure while she accomplished a goal. But honestly through reading her book the accomplishment of her goal did not seem like something that she particularly enjoyed. I would’ve thought the book would’ve been far more descriptive in terms of returns and times at the ski areas but once again that wasn’t important to the story line. While the title of the book I feel is fitting, she did indeed become unbound in terms of her self, I find it to be a little bit misleading that she found herself on top of the world.
March 15, 2019
Steph is a super funny writer, so if stories about "finding yourself" are your thing, you'd probably enjoy this. Personally, I didn't love Wild and I didn't love Unbound. I really enjoyed the skiing and travel aspects of her story... and I could totally relate with her desire to chase blue ribbons and "crazy" goals. However, this book lost ground with it's (in my opinion) cheesy assurances of how her life was changed but no real examples. I feel like these books just never address the "what next" aspect of life epiphanies. Every grand adventure teaches you lessons, it's what you do with these lessons that I'd like to see in one of these books.
October 2, 2019
Now it comes in a hardback book. I absolutely loved it! The journey that Steph on was amazing and the fact that skiing was the backdrop made it even more inspiring to me. I really connected with her through all the different parts of her journey and enjoyed watching her grow from what she thought the mission was to realizing it took her even deeper into finding herself. All skier girls should read this. Hell, this is a book for anyone wanting to read someone's non-traditional journey. I didn't make it through Eat, Pray, Love but I know the concept was a bit similar and this one I did make it through and I was so glad I did.
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