No Barriers: A Blind Man's Journey to Kayak the Grand Canyon

by Erik Weihenmayer, Buddy Levy

Overview

2018 Colorado Book Awards finalist in the Creative Nonfiction and National Bestseller and Honorable Mention Award Winner in the Outdoor Literature category of the 2017 National Outdoor Book Awards (NOBA)

“A beautiful book about family and finding a way to achieve more than you ever thought possible.” —Brad Meltzer, New York Times bestselling author

Erik Weihenmayer is the first and only blind person to summit Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Descending carefully, he and his team picked their way across deep crevasses and through the deadly Khumbu Icefall; when the mountain was finally behind him, Erik knew he was going to live. His expedition leader slapped him on the back and said something that would affect the course of Erik’s life: “Don’t make Everest the greatest thing you ever do.”

No Barriers is Erik’s response to that challenge. It is the moving story of his journey since descending Mount Everest: from leading expeditions around the world with blind Tibetan teenagers to helping injured soldiers climb their way home from war, from adopting a son from Nepal to facing the most terrifying reach of his life: to solo kayak the thunderous whitewater of the Grand Canyon.

Along the course of Erik’s journey, he meets other trailblazers—adventurers, scientists, artists, and activists—who, despite trauma, hardship, and loss, have broken through barriers of their own. These pioneers show Erik surprising ways forward that surpass logic and defy traditional thinking.

Like the rapids of the Grand Canyon, created by inexorable forces far beneath the surface, No Barriers is a dive into the heart and mind at the core of the turbulent human experience. It is an exploration of the light that burns in all of us, the obstacles that threaten to extinguish that light, and the treacherous ascent towards growth and rebirth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250088796
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/06/2018
Pages:	480
Sales rank:	491,872
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

BUDDY LEVY is a journalist, speaker, and the author of numerous books, including Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs; River of Darkness: Francisco Orellana’s Voyage of Death and Discovery Down the Amazon;Geronimo: Leadership Strategies of an American Warrior (with Mike Leach); and American Legend: The Real-Life Adventures of David Crockett. He was a cast member in all 24-episodes of HISTORY’s Brad Meltzer’s DECODED television series. He teaches writing at Washington State University. He lives in Idaho.

Table of Contents

Foreword xi

Prologue 1

1 Vision 7

2 The Dream Factory 21

3 Blind Summit 37

4 Alchemy 68

5 Déséquilibre 80

6 The Bucket Champion 96

7 Leading the Way 111

8 Anita, My Love 125

9 A Grain of Sand 134

10 The Adventure Glutton 150

11 Arjun's Playground 160

12 "Not My Yak!" 183

13 The Gates of Lodore 196

14 Bath Towels and Packing Tape 216

15 Soldiers to Summits 240

16 The Open-Heart Policy 253

17 Whirlpools 268

18 Eighteen Clicks 293

19 The Other Blind Guy 315

20 The Blindest Man in the World 325

21 Eddied Out 342

22 Smile 359

23 The Weight of Water 378

24 Flow 403

25 Lava 420

Epilogue 439

Acknowledgments 457

Editorial Reviews

09/12/2016
Named after Weihenmayer’s support organization, this memoir reads like an extension of its mission statement, right down to the concluding “No Barriers Pledges.” After Weihenmayer (Touch the Top of the World), a blind adventurist, scales Mt. Everest, his expedition leader advises him not to let that be “the greatest thing you ever do.” Weihenmayer, an American, takes the advice, leading blind Tibetan children and veterans on climbs and conducting countless other courageous feats. Spinning minutia as intimacy is an unexpected, unpleasant wrinkle. The book is part Facebook post (“The journey began to take on a metaphorical meaning”) and part résumé, detailing Weihenmayer’s personal and professional travails en route to the goal mentioned in the title. Weihenmayer’s inability to pare down the selection of anecdotes—all covered in CEO life lesson–speak or ponderous dialogue straight from gift-store inspirational storybooks (“In your talk, Erik, I remember you referring to an internal light that exists in people”)—makes it impossible to care. This is heroism as a reference book. The amount of material is so mind-numbing and the diversions from the ultimate goal are so numerous that the only thing readers will be amazed by is that Weihenmayer’s accomplishments manage to be boring. Two 16-page color photo inserts. (Feb. 2017)

Publishers Weekly

"Erik Weihenmayer's life is so rich, so full of accomplishments, that his story alone is interesting... He also brings to life the emotional challenges of Weihenmayer's life—the frustrations of dealing with a difficult brother and of trying to adopt a boy from Nepal. Graham gives each person in the book a distinct vocal identity, complete with varied tones, inflections, and accents." -AudioFile Magazine

From the Publisher

Erik Weihenmayer’s life is so rich, so full of accomplishments, that his story alone is interesting. But paired with a seasoned narrator, the blind adventurer’s tale becomes even more alive. Narrator Holter Graham does more than simply recount the physical challenges of climbing mountains and conquering rapids while blind. He also brings to life the emotional challenges of Weihenmayer’s life—the frustrations of dealing with a difficult brother and of trying to adopt a boy from Nepal. Graham gives each person in the book a distinct vocal identity, complete with varied tones, inflections, and accents. While ensuring that listeners always know who’s who, he also reflects the dignity of the many people who are part of Weihenmayer’s life. A discussion between the author and a pal follows. M.B. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

MAY 2017 - AudioFile

★ 2016-12-08
The first blind man to climb Mount Everest narrates his kayaking descent of 300 miles of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. On one level, this is a tale of grit, determination, courage, and overcoming tremendous odds. With co-author Levy, Weihenmayer (The Adversity Advantage: Turning Everyday Struggles Into Greatness, 2007, etc.) presents an exhilarating adventure story of arduous mountain climbing and whitewater kayaking, but he also offers broader life lessons. Over the course of eight years, the author organized his kayaking team as a byproduct of helping others, including blind orphans in Tibet and Nepal, blind teenagers in America, and veterans of our recent wars recovering from physical and mental wounds. Among them was Kyle, an amputee who pledged to scatter a fallen comrade's ashes from the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, and a shy blind kid named Joey, who had never peeled an orange. Weihenmayer's organization No Barriers is intended to address those in need in many different ways. For one, the author works intensively with youth. "For blind kids to succeed," he writes, "they don't just need other blind people. They'll need to work with seeing people to harness those abilities and learn to thrive in the sighted world." Weihenmayer elaborates on the skills required to achieve significant goals, including finding the right people, technologies, and methods necessary to accomplish these goals. It took a team of 10 to help the author make his descent down the Colorado, and the stories of the team members, some of whom had been with the author through many adventures, add to the narrative. Together, they developed a plan of attack for each of the rapids and unique communication and power supply methods, and they were backed by a logistics operation moving tons of equipment. Ultimately, in this highly inspirational tale, the Grand Canyon, like Everest and other summits, becomes a metaphor for life: "physical, mental, and psychological and…never ending." A wonderful tribute to the greatness of the human spirit.

Kirkus Reviews