If you have ever stood on the top of a mountain and looked out over a clear, clean, awe-inspiring world, you are going to enjoy David Holsworth’s first book, FATE WORSE THAN DEATH/GRACE BETTER THAN LIFE.
David started climbing mountains as a hobby while a student in Colorado. What started as a pastime soon developed into a full time passion. He kept looking for the most difficult mountains and his passion took him from Colorado to the ice walls of Alaska and eventually to the gigantic mountains in the Himalayans.
Along the way, he married and became a father. Marriage and fatherhood did not lessen his love of the dangers of conquering impossible peaks. He felt that the worse that could happen is that a fall could kill him or maybe he would have an accident that would disable him. Death was not something to fear.
It seemed that Fate had something else in mind for the author. It was not a mountaineering accident that put him in a wheelchair; it was the debilitating disease, Multiple Sclerosis.
David’s early years of climbing show us an arrogant young man. His need to take chances seldom included any consideration for the feelings of his family and friends. His growth from that young man to the mature man of faith is honestly recorded in FATE WORSE THAN DEATH/GRACE BETTER THAN LIFE.
David and his new wife, Deb, along with Sue Lance, a paraplegic due to Spina Bifida, have been instrumental in starting the Alliance Disability Outreach Group at their church. The group hosts social events like bowling and picnics for quadriplegics as well as acting as evangelists for Christ.
If mountaineering is of interest to you, David has given a good accounting of some of his climbs. He includes a glossary of mountaineering terms and an index of locations mentioned in the book.
The book will also be of interest to those who enjoy an inspirational story of how a man found his faith and, through that faith, a reason to keep on living.
No comments:
Post a Comment