A Summary of No Barriers written by Erick Weihenmayer

Ridvan Raphael Kol

Summary Response Essay

Feb 28, 2018

Blind Summit

“By learning, they get skills and these skills give them value” (Weihenmayer 28) said Erick Weihenmayer, who is the author of No Barriers and the main character of the story, to point out the importance of education for others. Weihenmayer is one of the people that are convinced everything is possible with education. Weihenmayer put down every detail of his adventures included climbing Mount Everest and kayaking in Grand Canyon for us in his book. His book becomes a light and hope for others who are not convinced yet.

Weihenmayer is an American athlete, adventurer, author, activist and the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest. His accomplishments become an aspiration not just for him, but also for others. As word spread about Erik’s remarkable achievement, Sabriye Tenberken, the founder and the teacher of the first sighted school in Tibet, heard about Erick and wrote a letter to explain the situation of sighted kids in Tibet. Seeing Erick Weihenmayer climbing Mount Everest was an aspiration for sighted kids in Tibet. With Tenberken’s letter, Weihenmayer heard about the kids’ willing to climb and did not hesitate to lead them to climb Lhakpa RI Mountain which at twenty-three thousand feet in Tibet. Tenberken explains in his letter how tragic the situation was in Tibet for sighted kids, “These blind kids were looked down on, shunned and called blind fool” (Weihenmayer 22).  With his empathy with sighted kids, he was excited to break their barriers. After months of training, they were ready to climb to Lhakpa RI Mountain with six sighted kids from high school and their guides. Everybody had physical and emotional challenges, especially Tenberken with having the responsibility of six kids. Weihenmayer puts his emotions into words to explain to us how dangerous climbing could be for sighted kids as an expert climbing and the leader of the team; “I could not dismiss the truth that this would be a high-stale endeavor, but I crossed my finger and hoped this adventure together wouldn’t become another brick wall in their lives” (Weihenmayer 44). Even though the challenges they had during the climbing, they were successfully and proudly at the Summit of Lhakpa RI.

“A No Barriers Life is not all about hanging off the edge of a scary mountain, nor is it only applicable to someone who may be blind or deaf. The No Barriers book is for everyone and the pledge is the first step towards living the life you have imagined” (Touchthetop 1), these words belong to the author of No Barriers. The main aim of the book is to motivate everybody, not just sighted people. Everybody has some struggles in their life and needs motivation to achieve their goals. Reading Weihanmayer’s book will change your perspective and let you see the world through blind people’s eyes.

Work Cited

Weihenmayer, Erick. No Barriers. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2017. Print.

Touchthetop. touchthetop.com. 2 February 2018.