****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I really loved this book. What I loved most about it is how it incorporated not only Peach's point of view, but Beck's children, brothers, friends, and coworkers. I've never read a book set up this way, but I think it was the only way to tell this story.Early on, as you read from Beck's point of view, you can't help but like the guy, but you're also struck by his incredible selfishness. Later on, Beck changes & starts loving his family the way they deserve; this is why I believe incorporating their voices to help tell the story was special & necessary choice.I ordered this book expecting to learn about Beck & the miracles he experienced on Everest in 1996. As harrowing as I know the story to be, I didn't expect to laugh & cry throughout the book. Beck is an incredible storyteller & writer.I also didn't expect to get to know Peach so well; she is probably my favorite person in this book. I have so much love & admiration for this woman! She's brilliant, tough as nails, a wonderful mother, & wife who moved mountains to save a husband who routinely betrayed her. So many times, she could have succumbed to her anger & sadness, with or without Beck, but she chose to grow a loving, supportive network of friends, lean on her amazing brother, & create a life of happiness independent of her mostly absent husband.Her decision to stay with Beck might make you angry as you read the book. Beck abandoned Peach & their children throughout their lives to go after his very dangerous & self-serving dreams. At one point in the book, he tells Peach she was only mad at him for doing this bc she didn't have her own dreams or hobbies that made her happy. This infuriated Peach & it infuriated me. Peach was busy at home raising their two kids, a job she enjoyed very much. She told him being a mother made her very happy, "leave me alone."Unsurprisingly, Peach was going to divorce Beck when he returned from Everest. That is until he literally came back from the dead & required round the clock care, enduring countless surgeries & battling recurring infections. Peach said she wouldn't leave him to a "convelescent home" at such a time & resolved to give him one last chance to CHANGE. And he did.The last piece I didn't expect from this book was to be introduced to a real-life angel by the name of Howard. He may not be a huge part of this book, but he is certainly a central character. Howard is Peach's much older brother & was like a father figure to not only Peach, but Peach's children, especially in Beck's absence. This is a man who drove hours to watch his little sister graduate college, even when she didn't consider the event that big of a deal. He did. While living in another state, this man would fly into TX just to attend his nephew's show & tell or his niece's band recital. He would join Peach & her children for family vacations while Beck was somewhere on some mountain, always finding ways to keep the kids entertained & having fun. And it was Howard who facilitated Peach's miracle & helped save her marriage after Beck returned from Everest.Most of the tears I shed in this book were for Howard. It moved me to read how Beck's love for his brother-in-law helped transform him & it moved me even more to witness Peach's willingness to accept that transformation when it would have been easier to say, "Too little too late."You really should read this book.
