Between a Rock and A Hard Place
A recounting of a harrowing epic and dramatic escape.

Format	Book	Category	Non-Fiction
Title	Between a Rock and A Hard Place	Pages	354
Author	Aron Ralston	RRP
Publisher	Atria Books (Simon & Schuster, Inc).	Reviews	1
Edition	Sept. 2004	Ave Rating	(3.50 of 5)

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IdratherbeclimbingM9 2/3/2008

Most of us have heard about the bloke who amputated his own arm to save himself from his entrapment by a boulder within a USA canyon back in 2003, so I was looking for more from this book than the voyeurism of that act. Although it has some interesting insights and well portrayed emotional moments, it left me with the distinct feeling that apart from being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Aron was in many ways an accident waiting to happen. His final summation of his epic experience is that he would largely do it all again (solo canyoning, mountaineering, etc); Quote; ~ "While I have learned much, I have no regrets about that choice. Indeed, it has affirmed my belief that our purpose as spiritual beings is to follow our bliss, seek our passions, and live our lives as inspirations to each other. Everything else flows from that. When we find inspiration, we need to take action for ourselves and for our communities. Even if it means making a hard choice, or cutting out something and leaving it in your past. Saying farewell is also a bold and powerful beginning." ~ End quote. I learnt some things in reading this book, but found myself wading through its pages a number of times. His temperament as portrayed within these pages more ideally fits the soloist than the camaraderie of team effort in my opinion. The one I felt most for was his mother. It was probably no less harrowing an experience for her and his friends than for him, but in quite a different context. After reading this book it would not surprise me in the least to hear that he has a fatal accident while pursuing his passion in the future.