Enough - by Melissa Arnot Reid (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A searching, uplifting memoir by the celebrated, groundbreaking climber: a journey of overcoming where the mountain's highest peaks can only be reached by traversing the dark crevasses of the soul

At twenty-seven, when Melissa Arnot Reid accepted a tank of oxygen just short of the summit of Mount Everest, she felt ravaged by defeat. Driven by a relentless, lifelong quest to prove to herself, her family, and the world that she was enough, she had set herself an incredible goal--to become the first American woman to summit Everest without supplemental oxygen. The failure battered her spirit and left her struggling to keep her tenuous grip on hope.

In the candid and adventurous spirit of Cheryl Strayed's Wild, Enough is a story of a life in which the most dangerous mountain faces became a refuge--until suddenly they, too, no longer seemed safe. From a childhood marked by conflict, betrayal, and predation, Reid propelled herself to the top of the mountain climbing world, summiting and guiding on the world's most challenging peaks and establishing herself as a woman unafraid to throw elbows in a milieu dominated by men. And yet for every summit she reached, her valleys of inner turmoil--over her estrangement with the family she believed she'd destroyed as a child; over relationships that cycled through deception and infidelity--grew deeper and more self-destructive. Eventually, she could not keep these worlds from colliding, especially after a series of tragedies at dangerous elevations took the lives of her mentors and friends. Forced at last to face herself, Reid made her most perilous climb yet--toward the uncertain promise of forgiveness and self-acceptance.

A beautiful, aching memoir of a journey with life-and-death stakes on the mountain and off, Enough bares the soul of one of the world's greatest climbers, from the rarified heights visible only at thin-air altitudes to the dark depths home to demons familiar to anyone who has struggled to find compassion for themselves.

Review Quotes

"Enough reads as if I'm standing on a wind-blown crevasse with one of my favorite athletes. Melissa teaches us how to reach our own personal summit by showing how she climbs on despite trauma, pain, tension, stress, doubt, and failure. She knows what it feels like to stand on top, but sharing this book and the detailed journey of how she got there is her greatest achievement."--Deena Kastor, Olympic medalist and New York Times bestselling author of Let Your Mind Run

"This brave, fascinating memoir documents the tormented life of an elite professional mountain guide. It derives much of its considerable power from the author's ruthless honesty. Melissa Arnot Reid provides an understated first-hand account of her pivotal role in preventing a mob of angry Sherpas from murdering three famous European climbers who'd insulted and disrespected them on Mt. Everest, bears witness to the two deadliest mass-casualty events in the mountain's history, and describes her agonizing ascent of the peak without supplemental oxygen. Enough is the best 'Everest book' I've read in a long time."--Jon Krakauer

"As [Melissa Arnot Reid] sketches the shape of a void between who she is and who she longs to be, one cannot help but cheer her on in crossing that divide in fits and starts and wrestling repeatedly with the idea of where--and to whom--she belongs. An endearing memoir about how to seize hard-fought freedom to become the best version of yourself."--Kirkus Review

"Reid, who in 2016 became the first American woman to summit and descend Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen debuts with a spirited account of her climbing career. . . . As Reid catalogs a string of failed relationships [and] her struggles against misogyny in the climbing world, she writes rapturously of the control she felt on the mountain. . . . This is exhilarating."--Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Melissa Arnot Reid is the first American woman to summit Everest without supplemental oxygen. It was her sixth summit of the highest ground on earth, cementing her place in mountaineering history. In doing so, she became a media star, in demand from many publications, television shows, and organizations looking for inspirational speakers. She continues to work as a mountain guide as well as running The Juniper Fund, the non-profit she co-founded.