outragous tales, with humor that has you laughing out loud, even if you're in a crowd; and with both victories and defeats which keep your emotions on a rollercoaster ride. Keep a handerchief handy. This is one of the best books I have ever read, and it has encouraged me to live my life with even more zest and adventure. Once you start, you won't be able to put it down. Wow! This is just a terrific book, filled with humor, wisdom, pathos and adventure. The author poignantly describes his childhood descent into blindness, his efforts to ignore it, his initial rebelliousness, and his gradual coming to terms with his handicap. Before long, the reader, like Erik, no longer sees blindness as a handicap, but as one of many hurdles life tosses in our way. It is certainly less of a burden to him than was the sudden, tragic death of his mother, which he movingly addresses and comes to terms with. He finds purpose to his life, he finds love, and he finds friendship and adventure on the mountains that he climbs. Buy this book and give it to any friend who has an inclination toward self-pity, and it may change their life. Read it and be inspired by the resiliency and strength of the human spirit. Ok, that's not true. But Erik Weihenmayer has gone where no blind man has gone before and very few men and women with 20/20 vision will be able to follow his footsteps.