Touch the Top of the World

by Erik Weihenmayer

Touch the Top of the WorldWeihenmayer, Erik

Genres: Nonfiction, Adventure

320 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Diane in Australia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about Erik, and how he gradually went blind during his childhood/teen years. I really enjoyed the portions of the book about the years leading up to his going blind, and the years immediately following that. It was interesting to read about how his family dealt with the trauma and, also, how Erik, himself, forged a mindset, one tiny step at a time.

He became interested in rock climbing, which led to wanting to climb mountains. In fact, he set a goal to climb the Seven Summits - the highest mountain on each continent. In the mountaineering section of the book, he keeps it simple, so, if you don't have a background in 'mountain lingo', you won't be lost in terminology that goes straight over your head.

If you like books about how a young person deals with a medical/physical life-changing event, you'd probably enjoy this book.

4 Stars = Outstanding. It definitely held my interest.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

This below quote from the Amazon site tells the story quite well. (Goodreads, for some reason, did not convey the overview when I created the Overdrive edition.) I quite sympathize with his realization early on that being "on the way to being blind" was probably harder for him to handle than actual blindness turned out to be. It was, for him, quite a journey. It almost makes his mountaineering accomplishments anticlimactic.

"Erik Weihenmayer was born with retinoscheses, a degenerative eye disorder that would leave him blind by the age of thirteen. But Erik was determined to rise above this devastating disability and lead a fulfilling and exciting life.

In this poignant and inspiring memoir, he shares his struggle to push past the limits imposed on him by his visual impairment-and by a seeing world. He speaks movingly of the role his family played in his battle to break through the barriers of blindness: the mother who prayed for the miracle that would restore her son's sight and the father who encouraged him to strive for that distant mountaintop. And he tells the story of his dream to climb the world's Seven Summits, and how he is turning that dream into astonishing reality (something fewer than a hundred mountaineers have done).

From the snow-capped summit of McKinley to the towering peaks of Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro to the ultimate challenge, Mount Everest, this is a story about daring to dream in the face of impossible odds. It is about finding the courage to reach for that ultimate summit, and transforming your life into something truly miraculous.

"An inspiration to other blind people and plenty of us folks who can see just fine."—Jon Krakauer, New York Times bestselling author of Into Thin Air"

[Marlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Erik slowly lost his vision starting in elementary school and became totally blind by early high school. He fought his condition every step of the way--even to the point of walking off a dock and destroying his canes. This part of the book was engaging. Once he had climbed his first mountain, however, the book became less interesting. There was way too much detail about his climbs--a step by step accounting of his of his accomplishments and defeats, literally. I marked one passage that was meaningful--"A summit exists in our hears and minds. It is a tiny scrap of a dream made real, indisputable proof that our lives have meaning. A summit is a symbol that with the force of our will and the power of our legs, our backs, and our two hands, we can transform our lives into whatever we choose them to be, whatever our hands are strong enough to create."
Although Erik eventually climbed the Seven Summits, the highest mountains in each of the seven continents, this book covers four of them.

[Julie Trapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

The inspiring true tale of a mountain climber who was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disorder traces his struggle to ascend the "Seven Summits" in the wake of the bad news. [amazon synopsis]

It has to be rough knowing you will soon lose your eyesight. However, the author dealt with it admirable all thru his life. His mother was devoted to him and his father saw to it that he could do things for himself. I'm not sure how I would feel about being his wife and having him traipsing all over the world to do potentially fatal activities. And he put these adventures before his wife. I'm surprised he had enough time in his travels to have a child. Since I am not into rock climbing or mountain climbing, I found the lengthly descriptions of his climbing tedious to read.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of biographical books, but this one was close to my heart because I'm legally blind. I could relate to a lot of points he made. I also liked that he didn't glorify disabled people (the way they often are in pop culture). Disabled people are just people and we can be assholes, just like anyone else. I loved the book for this message. I know nothing of climbing mountains and would never embark on such a dangerous endeavor, personally, so I respect him for that. For sticking to his athletic nature, despite the disability. I agree wholeheartedly that you can become what you like, despite your situation. Or, at the very least, you should be given the opportunity to try.

[Elly Sands · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just cannot imagine climbing any mountain while being blind let alone Everest. It takes courage, absolute determination and a little bit of craziness to do this. You just can't leave out the word "Inspirational" when describing Erik's story. His entire journey through being able to see in his youth to total blindness is what really took courage. A fascinating life and I was so touched by the total support and encouragement from his family. I was with him every step of the way!

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I interviewed Erik a few years ago for a magazine article. I remember him being a nice guy and generous during the conversation. I'm glad he didn't tell me the story about making his girlfriend stand on the talking scale. I gasped at that one.

Anyway, this is a tale of overcoming adversity to achieve great things. With how much time we spend on our phones these days, I don't think we can have too many of these stories.

[Stacey Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

True story of a blind man who climbed all the big ones, Kilimanjaro, Everest!