"In climbing the Seven Summits, Silvia Vasquez-Lavado did nothing less than take back her own life-one brave step at a time. She will inspire untold numbers of souls with this story, for her victory is a win on behalf of all of us."-Elizabeth Gilbert Endless ice. Thin air. The threat of dropping into nothingness thousands of feet below. This is the climb Silvia Vasquez-Lavado braves in her page- turning, pulse-raising memoir chronicling her journey to Mount Everest. A Latina hero in the elite macho tech world of Silicon Valley, privately, she was hanging by a thread. Deep in the throes of alcoholism, hiding her sexuality from her family, and repressing the abuse she'd suffered as a child, she started climbing. Something about the brute force required for the ascent- the risk and spirit and sheer size of the mountains and death's close proximity-woke her up. She then took her biggest pain as a survivor to the biggest mountain: Everest. "The Mother of the World," as it's known in Nepal, allows few to reach her summit, but Silvia didn't go alone. She gathered a group of young female survivors and led them to