3 out of 4 stars
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The Altitude Journals may not attractive kids and teens because its subject matter is aimed at an older audience; specifically, mountain climbers, nature enthusiast, culture lovers, and self-improves.
This memoir is about seven mountains and seven life lessons. Dave J. Mauro, the author, starts mountain climbing with nothing to lose and by the end he has everything to lose. Will he risk everything to summit the seven continental peaks.
Existentialism is a philosophy that stresses the freedom of each individual, and there are several moments when the author stresses the importance of choice. Mauro says a team can climb together, but only you can climb the mountain. No one can get you up to the peak. He then continues to describes the mountains as uncaring. If this can be thought of as a comparison to the universe. Then it can be interpreted with a nihilistic view as the universe is uncaring. But this does not have to be a depressing. Because Dave quotes an individual who says there's no reason for climbing it, yet we climb for the sake of climbing. This is existentialism resonates deeply. We choose to live life for the sake of living it.
Mauro drags the reader from his childhood to his unhappy adulthood. Reading his upbringing would be great if this was an autobiography, but this is a memoir which should deal with one aspect of a person’s life. Yes, the book revolves around mountain climbing but those parts read like summary. The memoir has moments of detailed and knowledgeable accounts of mountain climbing as well as the cultures around the mountain, but very few moments feel like they are part of the story the rest is filler. I felt like I was reading summary, specific details, a life lesson, and then how the lesson improved Mauro’s life. The cyclical structure I did enjoy. It reminded of Camus myth of Sisyphus, but I don’t feel that Mauro was intentionally designing his memoir for this reason. Ultimately, it felt as if Mauro was holding back.
2 out of 4 stars? No. Mauro’s deep introspective and extrospective shows the amount of work he put in the book and in himself. Sadly, this memoir did not earn 4 out 4 stars with its summary introduction. Again, The beginning felt rushed. As if the author knew you expected mountain climbing and tried to get the reader to the mountain climbing parts quickly. This book is 3 out of 4 stars. It is a touching memoir that will motivate anyone and demonstrates that all mountains are climbable and one that a person should climb for the sake of the struggle.
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The Altitude Journals
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