In The Shadow of The Mountain by Silvia Vasquez-Lavado

Author: Silvia Vasquez-Lavado

Title: In The Shadow Of The Mountain 

Publisher: Monoray 

Published: 2022

Pages: 384

Genre: Autobiography 

     You don't conquer a mountain. You surrender to it one step at a time. Despite a high-flying career, Silvia Vasquez-Lavado knew she was hanging by a thread. Deep in the throes of alcoholism, and hiding her sexuality from her family, she was repressing the abuse she'd suffered as a child. When her mother called her home to Peru, she knew something finally had to change. It did. Silvia began to climb. Something about the sheer size of the mountains, the vast emptiness, and the nearness of death, woke her up. And then, she took her biggest pain to the biggest mountain: Everest. The 'Mother of the World' allows few to reach her summit, but Silvia didn't go alone. Trekking with her to Base Camp, were five troubled young women on an odyssey that helped each confront their personal trauma, and whose strength and community propelled Silvia forward...

     I suppose we come to book by all sorts of means. That in part is the joy of them, from discovering them on shelves to the words of a friend book will find a way. This time for me this book came via Selena Gomez, which in and of itself might sound a bit odd. But miss Gomez will be playing the author in the soon-to-be-made film of the book. When I started to look more closely into the book I became more convinced this was something I need to read. With that said I figured this was not going to be an enjoyable one to get to grips with. This is not to say that I haven't questioned why I read such books. Why would anyone want to put another pain and suffering into their own head? And I came to the conclusion that it's to know there is a way out. That despite everything these people go through they find a way to live a life beyond the events that caused them such trauma.

     This author has been through a great deal in her life, much of which we would not wish on anyone. Throughout the course of the book, she writes with an honesty that at times is hard to process. To lay bare the worst of what you have been through for others to read and pick apart must be a very difficult thing to do. But I would also imagine a somewhat cathartic one for the author before it ever got to the point of sending it out into the world. This is an exorcism of the mind sent out across the pages for us to witness. As you imagine this means that there are sections in this book that are very uncomfortable to read. You want to be able to reach out and pull her away from the harm that is taking place. But that is the pain of the read we can only see and never change what has happened. It does however serve a function. It is also important for others who have been through similar events to know they are not alone. To see there is a possible path through this to something close to the life they should have had. 

     Whilst there is a great deal of darkness to be found here the author has tried her best to show the light at the end of the tunnel. In turning what happened to her around, she has managed to find a way of helping a great many other young women. Using her own experiences she found a way to use this to guide others to a place where they can at least live with the horrors they have been through.  In part, it feels that by going back into the great unknown she found a way to at least quiet her demons. This is most definitely a profound book and it is one that dug itself deep down into my bones. Whilst my own childhood trauma was not anywhere near as bad as the author's reading this definitely brought a few things back up to the surface. But it is only by confronting these things and finding a way to manage them can we ever hope to find a way back. 

     I think this is possible one of those books that is best to read in between something of a lighter note. To easy is it to be dragged down by such a dark topic only coming up for air in her more recent moments. This ability to channel these experiences into something that might just save lives is astounding and I have so much respect for her. Even if it did take some time to find a way to stop being swallowed whole by it. This book will no doubt stay with me for a long while after having turned the last age.