Review by AntonelaMaria -- The Altitude Journals
Posted: 19 Jan 2020, 12:14
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Altitude Journals" by David J Mauro.]
The Altitude Journals: A Seven-Year Journey from the Lowest Point in My Life to the Highest Point on Earth by David J. Mauro is a memoir you must find time to read.
After getting a divorce and sleeping on his sister’s spare bed, one unexpected question from his brother-in-law changed everything for David Mauro. He asked him to climb Mount Denali. His life changed forever when he went on this adventure. Suddenly, 44 is not looking so grim anymore, and it was only the beginning of his exploits. Facing that first summit brings so much more ambition but also a fight with his demons. Through his skilled writing, Mauro immerses the reader in Indonesia’s jungle and subzero temperatures of Antarctica. David takes the reader on a seven-year-long physical and emotional journey from Denali to the great Everest.
This book is so much more than a book about climbing mountains. It is a story about pain and healing, about searching for answers and finding redemption. Above all, this is a story about the hope and strength of a human spirit. Even though this is a debut book, I would never guess it. The flow of the plotline is seamless and cohesive. My favorite part is the writing style. David Mauro writes with such effortless and dry humor that I found familiar and endearing. It hooked me from start to finish while reading this book. This story made me reflect and think about my life journey.
“Along the way, I learned that a person does not come to believe in himself by climbing mountains, but by facing his problems. I learned that the only way to truly experience love is to risk your heart completely.”
Because I am a very greedy reader, I would like more details in some parts of this book. I wish there were more photos of his adventures. Otherwise, I can't think about anything else I disliked about this book.
Is David J. Mauro the craziest person I read about or the bravest? Both? I was thinking one or the other while reading this book. I have to say I’m impressed, inspired, and in awe. Not just by exceptional editing but overall excellence of this book, I can’t rate it any lower than perfect four out of four. I haven’t read such a good non-fiction book in a while. This book expertly makes a reader reflect on life and things that are happening around him.
It is an obvious choice to recommend this book to all wanderlust spirits out there and adventure seekers. Maybe if you have someone like that in your family, then this book is a perfect birthday present for them. However, I have to say I would recommend this to all readers who feel that they are stuck in a mundane pattern of work or life. Give this book a chance.
“But most of all I learned that every big mountain is really just a lot of little mountains, and they can only be climbed one at a time. What’s more, your ability to climb today’s mountain is largely dependent on whether you found joy in climbing yesterday’s.”
******
The Altitude Journals
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Altitude Journals: A Seven-Year Journey from the Lowest Point in My Life to the Highest Point on Earth by David J. Mauro is a memoir you must find time to read.
After getting a divorce and sleeping on his sister’s spare bed, one unexpected question from his brother-in-law changed everything for David Mauro. He asked him to climb Mount Denali. His life changed forever when he went on this adventure. Suddenly, 44 is not looking so grim anymore, and it was only the beginning of his exploits. Facing that first summit brings so much more ambition but also a fight with his demons. Through his skilled writing, Mauro immerses the reader in Indonesia’s jungle and subzero temperatures of Antarctica. David takes the reader on a seven-year-long physical and emotional journey from Denali to the great Everest.
This book is so much more than a book about climbing mountains. It is a story about pain and healing, about searching for answers and finding redemption. Above all, this is a story about the hope and strength of a human spirit. Even though this is a debut book, I would never guess it. The flow of the plotline is seamless and cohesive. My favorite part is the writing style. David Mauro writes with such effortless and dry humor that I found familiar and endearing. It hooked me from start to finish while reading this book. This story made me reflect and think about my life journey.
“Along the way, I learned that a person does not come to believe in himself by climbing mountains, but by facing his problems. I learned that the only way to truly experience love is to risk your heart completely.”
Because I am a very greedy reader, I would like more details in some parts of this book. I wish there were more photos of his adventures. Otherwise, I can't think about anything else I disliked about this book.
Is David J. Mauro the craziest person I read about or the bravest? Both? I was thinking one or the other while reading this book. I have to say I’m impressed, inspired, and in awe. Not just by exceptional editing but overall excellence of this book, I can’t rate it any lower than perfect four out of four. I haven’t read such a good non-fiction book in a while. This book expertly makes a reader reflect on life and things that are happening around him.
It is an obvious choice to recommend this book to all wanderlust spirits out there and adventure seekers. Maybe if you have someone like that in your family, then this book is a perfect birthday present for them. However, I have to say I would recommend this to all readers who feel that they are stuck in a mundane pattern of work or life. Give this book a chance.
“But most of all I learned that every big mountain is really just a lot of little mountains, and they can only be climbed one at a time. What’s more, your ability to climb today’s mountain is largely dependent on whether you found joy in climbing yesterday’s.”
******
The Altitude Journals
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon