The Girl Who Climbed Everest: The inspirational story of Alyssa Azar, Australia's Youngest Adventurer


Book Description

‘I believe that nothing is impossible if you dare to dream, plan and take action. I’m an ordinary girl who simply refused to give up on a dream, and that’s all it takes to succeed in life.’ Alyssa Azar is unstoppable. When she was just eight years old, she walked the gruelling Kokoda Track, the youngest person in the world to do so. At twelve she climbed the ten highest peaks in Australia. Two years later she touched the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Now, at the age of nineteen, she has reached the roof of the world: the summit of Mount Everest. The Girl Who Climbed Everest is the inspiring story of how an ordinary girl from country Queensland worked towards ascending the world’s highest peak. Through passion, determination and immense hard work, and despite being turned back twice – once by a deadly avalanche and the second time by a devastating earthquake that nearly claimed her life – Alyssa is the youngest Australian to have achieved this extraordinary feat. She shares the thrills and heartbreaking disappointments on the road to reaching her goal, and explains how she finds the courage and motivation to keep going in the face of overwhelming danger and adversity. Above all, Alyssa’s story shows us that we can achieve anything if we dare to dream big.




The Girl Who Climbed Everest


Book Description

'What I've learned from climbing mountains is that we can push ourselves far beyond what we think we are capable of, and it's outside of our comfort zones that the most amazing things happen.' What drives us to go to our limits and beyond? What does it take to make dreams come true over all else? And how can you turn fear into courage? From Everest to K2, The Girl Who Climbed Everest is the story of Bonita Norris' journey undertaking the world's toughest and most dangerous expeditions. Once an anxious teenager with an eating disorder it was the discovery of a passion for climbing that inspired Bonita to change her life. Drawing on her experiences to capture the agonies - both mental and physical - and joys of her incredible feats Bonita also imparts the lessons learned encouraging you to harness greater self-belief. The Girl Who Climbed Everest is an honest exploration of everything Bonita has learnt from climbing. Life lessons about ambition, values, risk, happiness, the courage to fail, and what's ultimately important. An indispensable and important book for anyone who has ever doubted their potential or put limits on themselves - whatever challenge you face or ambitions you want to achieve, The Girl Who Climbed Everest will inspire you to take action and live life more fearlessly.




No Summit out of Sight


Book Description

Jordan Romero climbed Mount Everest at age thirteen—and he didn’t stop there. In this inspiring young adult memoir that includes color photos, he tells how he achieved such great heights. On May 22, 2010, at the age of thirteen, American teenager Jordan Romero became the youngest person to climb to the summit of Mount Everest. At fifteen, he became the youngest person to reach the summits of the tallest mountains on each of the seven continents. In this energizing memoir for young adults, Jordan, recounts his experience, which started as a spark of an idea at the age of nine and, many years of training and hard work later, turned into a dream come true. “The emotional pitch of the story remains high as Romero contends with extreme weather, frustration, exhaustion, and homesickness to reach, with almost palpable exhilaration, each peak” (Publishers Weekly).




Follow My Footsteps


Book Description

In Follow My Footsteps, Sara Safari and Jeffrey Kottler recount the thrilling tale of Sara's climb to the top of Mount Everest for a cause: bringing awareness to the plight of marginalized girls and victims of child sex trafficking around the world. As a young girl in Iran after the Islamic Revolution, Sara experienced firsthand the oppressive, restrictive environment that enables the sex-trafficking trade to thrive. She found herself with little personal freedom and few rights under the law, and she knew there had to be something better. As an adult, Sara wanted to empower children who'd been cast aside by society, so she set out on a journey fraught with obstacles and life-threatening peril. She'd never before understood the quest for the glory that came with standing atop the world. But what better way to show these young girls that they can do anything they put their minds to? Her own heartbreaking past makes the story of her determination all the more inspirational. The trials she faced changed her forever and helped her discover a strength she didn't know she had.




Above the Mountain's Shadow


Book Description

A story of determination, survival, and the indomitable human spirit, Above the Mountain's Shadow: A Journey of Hope and Adventure Inspired by the Forgotten is an incredible story of one woman's quest to empower the women of the world, one peak at a time. Growing up in Iran after the Islamic Revolution, Sara Safari enjoyed very few personal freedoms and little rights under the law, living an existence marked by oppression and limitations. In response to her childhood experiences, Sara was motivated to empower marginalized women everywhere--and what better way to show young girls that they can do anything than to stand on top of the world? This book recounts the exhilarating tale of Sara's climb to the top of Mount Everest, a journey fraught with obstacles and life-threatening peril. From having never climbed a mountain in her life to ascending Everest during a magnitude 7.8 earthquake, Sara's journey is as thrilling as it is inspirational.




Not All Black and White


Book Description

On paper Scotty Hodges had it all. In a football career almost without peer, Scott was drafted as a teenager to represent the team he loved, Port Adelaide, and would go on to win a staggering eight premierships. He would break the State’s all-time goal-kicking record, win its highest honour, the Magarey Medal, and be headhunted as the star forward in the inaugural Adelaide Crows AFL team. He had a beautiful wife, herself the daughter of football royalty, and two gorgeous young kids. Behind all this his life was falling apart. For years, Scott grappled with undiagnosed mental illness, sending him into a spiral of confusion and isolation, drug and alcohol abuse, anger and violence. He kept this secret from the world, and even began planning his own demise. This is the gritty and raw account of how an ordinary man overcame extraordinary demons, and emerged the other side with a message of hope and survival.




Mary's Last Dance


Book Description

I can vividly remember the last steps of the last ballet, walking off the stage led by a mother and knowing the decision I had to make. That was my last dance. Mary Li (nee McKendry) is an international ballet star and a mother like no other. She became a household name when her husband Li Cunxin published his bestselling memoir, Mao's Last Dancer - but that book told only half the story. Growing up in a rambunctious family in Rockhampton, Mary discovered an extraordinary early passion for ballet. It saw her move to London at age sixteen, to study at the Royal Ballet School and dance at the London Festival Ballet with the likes of Nureyev, and later to Houston Ballet, where as Principal Dancer she fell in love with the acclaimed Chinese ballet dancer Li Cunxin. The couple became the darlings of the dance world, and were happier than they could have imagined at the arrival of their firstborn daughter, Sophie. Then right at the height of her international career, Mary seemingly disappeared from view, leaving the fans aghast. What could have happened to cause a woman so committed, so talented, to give it all away in a heartbeat? Now, almost twenty years on, fans finally get their answer about what happened next to this inspiring family, and learn why it is Mary's turn to tell a truly remarkable tale. This is a powerful and uplifting memoir about chasing an impossible dream, and sacrificing one's own ambition for the love of a child. It is a moving and unforgettable story of passion, dedication and devotion - and the highly anticipated sequel to one of the world's most beloved books.




Fear No Boundary


Book Description

'Climbing is a bit like rolling a dice - sometimes things fall into place and you achieve your aim. Sometimes your number comes up.' - Sue Fear, April 2006 When mountaineers Lincoln Hall and Sue Fear collaborated in writing Fear No Boundary, neither could have imagined that within a year one would be left for dead and the other would die on the mountains they loved. In April 2006 Sue Fear, the first Australian woman to climb Everest via the North Ridge Route, set out to summit Mt Manaslu, the world's eighth highest mountain. If she achieved this feat, Sue would become the first Australian woman to have climbed five of the world's fourteen mountains over 8000 metres. Sadly it would be her last climb. Although Sue successfully summitted Manaslu on 28 May, tragically she fell to her death in a crevasse during her descent. Fear No Boundary chronicles the incredible journey Sue Fear took on her path to Everest, following her decision to make travel and adventure-guiding her profession. While Sue’s celebration of her fortieth birthday on top of Mount Everest in May 2003 and the nail-biting climb from Base Camp to the summit provides a framework, this updated edition also details Sue's other climbing achievements and includes a postscript outlining her final expedition. What drove this slightly-built and unassuming woman from Sydney's leafy North Shore to set her sights on a career as a mountaineer? How did she feel as a woman climbing in a predominantly male domain? These questions and more are answered as we follow Sue's journey around the world and off the beaten track to destinations such as Bolivia, Bhutan, Uzbekistan and Kamchatka, climbing the Andes, Mount Kilimanjaro and of course the Himalaya. Awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2005 for services to mountaineering and the community, in particular the Fred Hollows Foundation, Sue's is an inspirational story. 'Sue was a beautiful person, a great Australian and an inspiration to The Foundation and to all those who knew her' - The Fred Hollows Foundation 'Sue Fear was inspirational. She was a vibrant personality, a mountaineer, a tireless worker for various charities and youth, and a good friend to many' - Australian Geographic




Elizabeth and Elizabeth


Book Description

The story of how two women, who should have been bitter foes, combined their courage and wisdom to wield extraordinary power and influence behind the scenes of the fledgling colony. 'I've waited for this moment so long, dreamed of it, prepared for it, I can barely believe it's finally here. But it is. And it is nothing like I expected.' There was a short time in Australia's European history when two women wielded extraordinary power and influence behind the scenes of the fledgling colony. One was Elizabeth Macquarie, the wife of the new governor Lachlan Macquarie, nudging him towards social reform and magnificent buildings and town planning. The other was Elizabeth Macarthur, credited with creating Australia's wool industry and married to John Macarthur, a dangerous enemy of the establishment. These women came from strikingly different backgrounds with husbands who held sharply conflicting views. They should have been bitter foes. Elizabeth & Elizabeth is about two courageous women thrown together in impossible times. Borne out of an overriding admiration for the women of early colonial Australian history, Sue Williams has written a novel of enduring fascination. 'An extraordinary story of female leadership at a time when such a quality was frowned on, and female friendship forged against the odds. Sue Williams' Elizabeth & Elizabeth brings us a nuanced and vivid portrait of the early days of colonisation. More importantly, it delivers a fascinating look into the relationship between two remarkable women.' - Meg Keneally, bestselling author of The Wreck 'A fascinating and evocative story of an enduring friendship between two women who played such an important role in colonial Australia's history.' - Caroline Beecham, author of Finding Eadie




Welcome to the Outback


Book Description

"From cattle-droving to goat-racing and prospecting for black opal - one woman's search for the real heart of Australia."--Cover.