One step at a time

Overwhelmed by grief, the only way for Amanda Westwood to heal was to immerse herself in the landscape of the highest mountains on Earth.

This book is more than a collection of Himalayan images, it’s the story of how faced with intense tragedy, Amanda found a way to live again. Amanda had a fulfilling and successful life before one shocking moment destroyed it all, plummeting her life into an empty void. Through the stillness of an immense wilderness and the challenge of adventure, Amanda found a way to survive and trace a path to a new, exciting life.

“No one can prepare you for the twists and turns of life. One moment I was living a contented life, then one shocking event up-ended everything. My husband, Graeme, had an unexpected and violent heart attack. I did CPR for 20 minutes in front of my children, and he died in my arms. As a numbing void threatened to overwhelm me, my children insisted we walk together along the beach at sunrise. Looking at the waves rolling to shore, I realised that the beauty of nature rekindled in me a sense of joy. So two years later, at the age of 58, still searching for answers and nursing a grief I could not subdue, I decided to visit Nepal and climb the Himalayas.