My Little Everest: A Story About Dealing with Fear

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Eleven-year-old Ryan wants to try out for his school’s soccer team,
but he is afraid of making a fool of himself because he thinks he is not
good enough. He is so depressed by his self-doubts that he even
considers skipping school. Fortunately, Ryan has an oddball uncle named
Martyn. Uncle Martyn is always having adventures, like going away to
far-off places and climbing mountains. Ryan visits Uncle Martyn’s
cabin to see photos of his latest trip, an expedition to Mount Everest.
To his surprise, his heroic uncle admits to having fears and self-doubts
even as he conquered Everest. “Don’t apologise for being afraid,”
his uncle tells him. “Everyone is afraid some time. It’s what you do
when you are afraid that matters.”

This well-written book combines a semi-autobiographical text with
exceptional photographs of a real Everest expedition. Author Dan Culver
actually climbed Everest. There was a real boy named Ryan in Culver’s
life—the 12-year-old son of the woman Culver married in 1992. Although
the foundation of the story is built on an almost Victorian-toned lesson
about having the courage to do what you really want to do, the kicker is
that Culver himself died in 1993 while mountain climbing. The result is
a good, solid story, with a bittersweet aftertaste for those who take
the time to read Rick Hansen’s foreword, Ryan’s mother’s preface,
and Dan Culver’s obituary at the back of the book. Highly recommended.