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Nicole LoBiondo is a writer, mountaineer, and partner at Surfrider Beach Club. As she ascended the world’s highest peaks, including Everest, Denali, and Aconcagua, she descended into the tender terrain of caregiving for her mother, who was diagnosed with ALS. That dual journey became the heart of her debut memoir, a lyrical exploration of love, loss, and resilience. A graduate of Villanova University, LoBiondo’s work bridges adventure and introspection, revealing how endurance is both a physical and spiritual act.
Reviewed by C.R. Hurst for Readers' Favorite
Where the Air Grows Thin by Nicole LoBiondo chronicles the author’s mountaineering experiences in which she endeavors to climb the seven summits, the highest mountain on every continent, including some of the most widely known, such as Aconcagua in Argentina, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Denali in Alaska, Mount Elbrus in Russia, and, of course, Mount Everest in the Himalayas. Like other climbers’ accounts, such as Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, LoBiondo offers harrowing tales about the mental and physical challenges involved in such endeavors, but also the camaraderie found in them. However, what sets this memoir apart is LoBiondo’s even more harrowing recounting of her mother’s seven-year battle with ALS. The author draws striking parallels between the two, emphasizing how both require resilience and the awareness that facing death can help you live a better life.
As a woman whose climbing experience has been limited to weekend excursions with a daypack, hiking boots, and a walking stick, I can’t speak to the accuracy of Nicole LoBiondo’s accounts of mountaineering, but I can tell you she is a gifted writer who gives her reader an intimate look at its pleasures and pain. Still, what I found most intriguing about the book was the care given to Nicole’s mother by her and her family. I know from personal experience how a crippling illness such as ALS can drive a family apart. It was heartening to read of a family who was not. However, Where the Air Grows Thin does not offer naive resolutions. Even after her mother’s death, Nicole climbs because she "doesn’t know what else to do. Because motion feels better than stillness.” A highly recommended read for mountaineers and caregivers alike.
