"More is riveting. Burhardt's writing is so raw and immediate that her journey through motherhood, marriage, climbing, and building a conservation organization is our journey, day by day and indeed hour by hour. It is full of joy, fear, frustration, passion, possibility, and the intensity of love — a woman's story, but above all an enthralling and motivating human story. Highly recommended!"
"More is an intimate, frank, first-person account of the abrupt transition to motherhood, in the middle of a life already full of incredible risk, beauty, and passion. Parenthood changes everything, and it’s fascinating to accompany Majka Burhardt as she negotiates this new route and finds a deeper sense of herself along the way."
"If you’re looking for the usual motherhood memoir, look somewhere else. But if you’re looking for a raw memoir about the tensions between motherhood and the shifts in one’s identity and not sure how you feel about it, this is your book."
"Heartfelt, raw, and unflinchingly honest. If you’re looking for something that speaks to your soul and gives you permission to dive headlong into whatever shape of a life you choose, More is the read you’re looking for."
"Aside from the loss of a loved one, there may be no transition in life more abrupt than parenthood. Majka‘s vulnerable yet visceral journey of reflection is as graceful, brave and calculating as the accomplishments of her climbing career. It will inspire anyone faced with hardship to look within."
"In a series of journal entries spanning from her early pregnancy in 2015 through the first four-and-a-half years of motherhood, Burhardt describes with heartrending candor a dilemma many of us will face: How do you maintain a core identity while embracing all-encompassing life changes? Both adrenaline seekers and armchair enthusiasts will admire Burhardt’s raw honesty and marvel at her incredible achievements."
"The fierce candor of Majka Burhardt's beautiful memoir is something to behold, for in More she’s got an audience to whom she cannot lie: the book is addressed to her twin children, and in the clarifying light of that testimony all of life is reconfigured. How to be a daughter, a mother, a wife, an elite climber, a breadwinner, a woman of keen intelligence tangled up but trying to stay true, a citizen of the world. In Burhardt's story we get the untold tale of all mothers, the sorrow of the unsaid, the grief that trails after it, the choices made. You might think a mountain guide and world-class climber would be all bravado, but the model of courage in this memoir isn’t found in feats of daring, but down the aisle of a grocery store, or on the side of the road, where a woman cries in a minivan, then decides on love and joy, on difficulty, on more, and drives home."
"An insightful, honest, and heartfelt view of what mothering looks like for an ambitious outdoor athlete. Written in the form of a journal for her kids, More is an entertaining read for anyone, and a must-read for anyone considering parenthood."
"Majka gives a heartfelt and honest account of the questions and inner dialogue so many people face with motherhood and what comes next. For anyone questioning the balance of adventure and parenthood and marriage, More is a book that offers a sincere look into how to unwrap the past, present and future."
"This is a deeply affecting book. It's a must read for anyone who has struggled through the feeling of losing yourself to parenthood and (hopefully) finding another version on the other side."
How do you, as a diehard climber and mountain guide, navigate the maelstrom of being a new parent and sustaining a marriage when both partners are also wedded to a life of adventure? As Majka Burhardt reveals in her searing honest memoir, you don’t. You simply make it up as you go and hope to survive, much like you would on a serious alpine climb. More portrays this whole messy reality—with humor, beauty, and an unsparing eye for the visceral details. As a fellow climber and parent myself, I couldn’t put the book down: It resounds with deep echoes of the human experience, and reveals the tightrope walk between risk and stability.
"Everything about this book takes my breath away. Makja's honesty, her heart, and her fearlessness knows no bounds. I am in awe."
These passionate, truth-telling letters are riveting reminders that the days and nights of new motherhood are another kind of extreme sport.
"As a professional rock climber and mother, I can certainly relate to Majka’s thoughts and feelings about balancing motherhood with her relationships, marriage, work, and her passion for climbing. Her writings not only made me laugh out loud, but I was impressed by her willingness to share her most vulnerable inner thoughts and fears as a mother during this critical time of political, social, and environmental turmoil. This series of letters to her twins throughout pregnancy and their first four-and-a-half years of life, offer an insightful perspective about how the intense love for our children, can enable us to do what’s best in the face of all the challenges of life and the sometimes messiness of motherhood."
2022-12-06
A professional rock climber shares the challenges of maintaining her career after becoming a mother.
In this epistolary memoir, Burhardt shares the emotional challenges of becoming a mother while attempting to retain a sense of her own identity. Prior to becoming pregnant with twins, she was not sure if she wanted to have children. She and her husband had established successful careers as rock climbers and mountain guides, and she was also working on Legado, “the organization I founded with $11,000 and a harebrained idea about combining science, conservation, and climbing.” Through a series of journal entries, Burhardt shares her inner thoughts about the changes she was facing as well as the toll her changing identity was having on her career and marriage. As the author confesses, she prided herself on being different, but the details of domestic life made her feel angry. Facing the daily realities of motherhood, she found herself increasingly resentful of her husband. She believed he wasn’t contributing equally to the household and had a “seemingly incessant desire to tack on time away” to continue to climb for pleasure—something she could no longer do. Furthermore, after the deaths of several fellow rock climbers, the author felt fear as her husband continued to embark on dangerous treks. Burhardt also struggled with her fraught relationship with her mother, and she shows how she had to come to terms with the decisions her mother made regarding motherhood and her marriage to Burhardt’s father. Regarding gender roles, Burhardt questions at whom her anger should be directed: her husband, herself, her father, or society—or some combination thereof. While new parents will find the feelings that Burhardt shares relatable, her negative comments and expressions of anger toward her husband and mother begin to feel repetitive, as the fault in her mind continues to lie largely with others.
Raw, passionate, and stinging.
