Richardson’s uplifting debut recounts Pem Dorjee Sherpa’s story—his life, love, success, and eventual immigration to the United States. Born in the remote Nepali village of Chyangba, Pem’s early years are challenging: his parents are subsistence farmers, his father is an alcoholic, and he must walk several kilometers to school. At 12 years old, he runs away to Namche Bazaar to work in a teahouse, later becoming a mountaineer guide and moving to Kathmandu. Pem meets his future wife, Moni Mulepati—“a strong-willed and curious child”—during their time together in an Advanced Mountaineer course, setting the two on a pathway of wild adventure paired with a deep, abiding love.Richardson’s description of Pem’s harsh childhood, the poverty, and lack of opportunities is both sensitive and authentic; by placing those experiences in the broader cultural, economic, and social conditions of Nepal, she gives them context and breadth. Pem and Moni’s personalities dazzle, etched through small incidents like their rocky start together, when Moni, irritated that Pem kept her awake at night chattering with his friends, did her best to ignore him—but eventually succumbed to his bold courtship. Richardson’s account of their Everest summit bid—which culminated in their marriage at the top and Moni’s record of the first Newari woman to make the climb—is rich in detail, capturing the challenges of Moni’s snow blindness, a constant lack of oxygen, and lurking evils of frostbite and hypothermia.
The book’s highlight is the deep respect and empathy that Richardson has for her subject, as she narrates Pem’s boyhood in Chyangba in nuanced and evocative tones, devoid of sensationalized portrayals, and recounts the courage and determination of both Pem and Moni as they achieve U.S. citizenship—an even “greater challenge than climbing Everest,” according to Pem. This is a crisp, inspiring account not just of scaling a deadly summit, but of life itself.
Takeaway: Exhilarating account of a Nepali Sherpa’s dauntless spirit amid a challenging life.
Comparable Titles: Ed Douglas’s Tenzing, Eric Shipton and H.W. Tilman’s Nanda Devi.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
