#45 [2024/CBR16] The Push by Tommy Caldwell

I love climbing, and I already follow Tommy Caldwell on Instagram, so it's a little odd that I wasn't more excited when my book club chose The Push (2018) by Caldwell for our next book. My lack of enthusiasm stemmed wholly from the fact that I already knew a lot about him. He lives in nearby Estes Park, and I've seen a number of documentaries that detail him climbing the Fitzroy Traverse in Patagonia, the harrowing hostage situation in Kyrgyzstan, and his conquering of the Dawn Wall with a missing finger. I wasn't sure what more I was going to get out of a book, that I hadn't already learned from other sources. 

I decided to listen to the Audiobook because I especially like memoirs as Audiobooks. Caldwell did not read his book, but the narrator did a very good job. And I really enjoyed this book. There was a lot of information that wasn't included in the various documentaries I'd seen. Caldwell felt open and honest about the good and bad things in his history. 

Besides being a remarkable climber, Tommy Caldwell has had a pretty interesting life. His father was very intense and forceful when it came to encouraging his children towards physical achievement. He paid them for athletic feats, and took Tommy on some pretty wild outdoors adventures as he was growing up. Tommy was definitely influenced by his father, but he also seems to have an unusual focus and drive that may be more innate. 

Having made a name for himself by winning climbing competitions around the country, Caldwell was only twenty-one when he, his girlfriend, Beth Rodden, and two other companions were kidnapped and held hostage by armed forces in Kyrgyzstan. It was an incredibly harrowing ordeal that lasted many days. All four were starving and freezing for much of that time. There were firefights all around them, and they saw many people killed. Caldwell pushed one of their captors off of a cliff, thinking he killed him, in order for them to get away and get to help. 

Caldwell went on to marry Beth Rodden, although the marriage did not last. Caldwell goes into a lot of detail about their struggles, what broke them up, and how bad he felt after his divorce. It was an eye-opening amount of detail that I was not expecting. The documentaries usually just mention that they were both very young and found happiness with other partners later.

Another unique aspect of Caldwell's life is that he's a professional climber but missing a big chunk of his index finger. He accidentally cut it off while doing some construction work at his home. The doctor told him he wouldn't be able to climb like he used to. But he did. Caldwell even improved after cutting off his finger.

There were two big climbing achievements that Caldwell spent a fair bit of time describing. His first was the Fitz Roy Traverse with Alex Honnold. There is a short Reel Rock documentary on this accomplishment that is definitely worth watching. I enjoyed reading about it as well. The second was climbing the Dawn Wall in Yosemite. It is one of the sheerest routes up El Capitan and had never been done before. Caldwell spent seven years figuring out the route and working on it. It was a tremendous achievement. 

I like to climb, so I assumed this book would be relatable and inspiring. However, the things Caldwell does is so beyond my skill and comfort level that--although I was impressed, I could not relate. However, this book was consistently interesting, and I enjoyed reading it. I appreciate Caldwell's honesty in opening up about his life and climbing.