The Kid Who Climbed Everest Written by Noel

The Kid Who Climbed Everest

By Bear Grylls (Host of Man vs. Wild)

Sometimes reading is boring, that’s why I hardly read anything fiction. Harry Potter, Twilight, Lord of the Rings, I tried reading them just out of curiosity, but I couldn't get past two pages. This book, however, I heard nothing about it other than finding about it through Grylls's website. I wanted to find out more about him after watching Man vs. Wild. I didn't think it was the best TV show ever, but it brought back childhood memories such as watching McGyver, but this was the real guy. It was a TV show but the closest now to being the real deal. It reminded me of the kid inside with an unfulfilled thirst for adventure. In other words it was my curiosity about the persona on screen that got me off the coutch and pick up the book. Secretly, I wanted to start an adventure for myself, the one that had been burning inside me unfulfilled for years, but I was wondering how to go about it. With the lack of male mentors around, getting the book was the next best thing. So, along with the self discovery 8 Mile soundtrack playing in my head, I ordered it at a local bookstore that could get it for me and waited.

It arrived after three weeks. I dug right into it, and right from the beginning, it felt like his "first book" which was undermined by 1) that he wrote a book in the first place, and 2) simply beccause of the endeavor he was taking on. I couldn't care less about the writing. I wanted to know about his attitude and thought process, and to feel like I have met the person, despite his inexperience writing (it's not a best seller). It's what kept me reading.

HIS STORY

Grylls's story is inspiring. An accident that broke his back made him want to go after his dream of climbing Everest, he realized that there was no time to waste and to get going with his dream. He recovered, got the funding from sponsors, and went out and did it. So from a military background, he is now an adventurer that inspires people to go after their dreams.

In his climb he was the youngest and was really not the expert from the beginning. He wasn't the respected adventure expert. And another thing I liked about it were the parts about his father's influence on him. "You never know how steep a hill is until you put your nose onto it," was a line frequently mentioned on Man vs. Wild and in the book.

It's not the type of book I would recommend for just anyone to read. On the other hand, I'm not sure I can recommend anything I've read. My taste comes from a self-serving need to know specific things, not for entertainment, I don't read for fun. But I'm glad I read this because I feel like I got a little bit of that spirit knowing "the difference between extraordinary and ordinary is the word extra," to give a little more. And as what I had tasted in reading the book, it's not whether you come out with a best seller or not, whether people appreciate what you do or not, you just have to climb your own Everest quietly. It doesn't matter whether he was the first or second youngest Briton to climb it, the fact that he did it – climbed the mountain and wrote the book – is what matters.

This review sums up what I am trying to say. "...Maybe it isn't the best piece of literature around but is certainly one of the most honest. I was gripped by Bear's account of events, emotions, respect, friendship and faith and finished the book feeling both exhausted and inspired!" - http://www.amazon.com/Kid-Who-Climbed-Everest/dp/1585742503

MY STORY

I thought I'd mention this book because it's what I was reading while moving to Cebu. And just as anything grand, it's easy to forget the little details that make a difference. This is what Bear does well in this book. He reminded me, through his miticulous explanation about the mundane everyday things, that it's the little things that count. For instance, it didn't matter that he had a military background, the only thing that got him up the mountain was climbing itself – one foot in front of the other.

I knew it wasn't going to be a classic, but I didn't get it for that, it was raw and a firsthand account by a first time writer. It was honest with all its flaws and humanity. It humbled me remembering that others are climbing their own Everest, and it inspired me to climb my own queitly and to give a little extra.

AND THEN

Climbing Everest has a lot of dangers, he almost died several times and altitude sickness was a constant threat. But aside from the persistence and determination you learn from reading anyone's story of a climb, I realized again that you needed to have a lot of patience, timing, and aside from luck – play it smart but just do it.

I couldn't wait to put the book down, it wasn't as much as it was a boring read – there was a lot of waiting and I was just antsy to get things going for myself. I read the book from cover to cover but it took me almost 6 months. I'd read stuff in between, and I didn't want to rush it. Grylls patiently detailed everything as if I was reading his journal, I didn't want to skim through his words.

There were a lot of lessons, but if there's anything I really took away from reading it, it was that 1) anything you do can be boring, and you "never really know how steep something is (or not steep) unless you stick your nose onto it" so stop over thinking it and do it, and 2) you don't have to be someone special to do something special or important for yourself or anyone, we usually underestimate ourselves – you don't have to wait for permission. You have everything you need, you have His blessing, you don't have to be McGyver.