The inspiring memoir of a middle-aged woman who challenged herself to climb one hundred Japanese mountains in a single year, even after an aggressive cancer threatened to derail her dream.After more than forty years of living «safe and scared,» California attorney and mystery author Susan Spann decided to break free by climbing one hundred of Japan's most famous mountains, inspired by a classic list of hyakumeizan peaks. But when an unexpected cancer diagnosis forced her to confront her deepest fears, the mountains of Japan became the setting for an even more transformative journey from pain and fear to a new life fueled by hope, confidence, and strength.This immersive, inspiring, and witty page-turner captures the terrifying lows and breathtaking highs of a woman's journey from timidity to confidence, cancer to healing, and regret to joy, as she breaks the mental and physical chains that once prevented her from living out her dreams. Susan chronicles her journey with an insightful, often humorous eye for not only her travels across Japan, but the culture, food, nature, and obstacles she encountered along the way, and complements her honest and vivid prose with breathtaking personal photographs.
Оглавление
Susan Spann. Climb
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Victory—and Misery—on Misen
One Hundred and One
Cherry Blossoms and Liver Spots
You Are Not Prepared
Don’t Forget the Bug Spray
Hope for the Best, GORE-TEX for the Worst
Fear Is a Liar
Horses’ Bells and Dragons’ Eyes
No Raisins on the Summit
Cuckoos and Chains
The Mountain Wants to Be Climbed
At Least the Frog Was Happy
Walking on the Road
Too Many Bees
Magic in the Mundane
Daisen’s Giant Chipmunk
All Roads Lead to Kyoto
Goddess of All That Flows
Even Ants Like Kakigori
On Mount Inari
Mount Fuji
Summit Dawn
Tidal Shift
To Play with Crows
Hokkaido Nature Tours
Peeping Tom
Tokachidake
Takuto and Tomuraushi
Lake Akan and Meakan
Water over Rock
Rausu Rainbow
From Snow to Snow
I Love Rishiri
Return to Mount Kōya
Chicken and Towels
Stone Hammer Mountain
Annamaria
Flying Free
Injury
Corinne
Life and Death. on the Kumano Kodo
Rebirth
Over Byobu
Alive and Free
Happy New Year, Fujisan
That’s Not the Summit
Tops and Tofu
These Mountains Won’t. Climb Themselves
Experienced Hikers Only
Benched
The Kindness of Strangers
Seven Lucky Gods
Peeping Fuji
Yamanaka-ko
Where There Is No Trail
Cock-a-Doodle Delicious
Short-Sleeved Samurai
Into the Woods
Farewell to Snow
The Longest Ropeway in Japan
Of Gourds and Waterfalls
Learning to Run
Chichibu Five
100 Summits . . . Plus One More
Appendix
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I may have hiked most of these mountains solo, but I could not have written this book alone. It would be impossible for me to thank everyone involved in making Climb a reality—the list would run longer than the book itself. However, there are a few individuals who require special mention. In roughly chronological order:
Thank you to Dr. Daniel Herron for finding my cancer early enough that I had a chance for a real cure, not just remission; to Dr. Joelle Jakobsen for scheduling my surgery on a moment’s notice and performing it so skillfully; and to Dr. Gurvinder Shaheed for believing in my ability to tolerate dose-dense chemotherapy and for guiding me through it with skill and compassion. I am alive today because of each of you.
.....
I looked back the way we came. “I think down is easier.”
