Praise for Sixty Meters to Anywhere

“In Sixty Meters to Anywhere Brendan Leonard looks at climbing with the brutal honesty of a misguided youth—had climbing not found him, he would have continued a life defined by drink. . . . Inspiration on every page and a remarkable story of determination.”

—Conrad Anker, professional climber

“Nothing is off-limits for Leonard in this shocking memoir about recovery from addiction and redemption in the mountains.”

—Grayson Schaffer, senior editor, Outside

“Brendan Leonard’s prose has the clarity of all those times when, near the top of a mountain as the air spreads out and the world expands below, you feel as though the simple, yet mysterious act of ascent could actually change your life.”

—Katie Ives, editor-in-chief, Alpinist

“Honest as a trad lead, committed as a free solo, this is the story of how a rope becomes life’s gift of redemption—and inspiration.”

—Steve Casimiro, editor, Adventure Journal

“Leonard’s voice is at once crass, funny, heart-wrenching, and life-affirming.”

—Chris Kalous, The Enormocast

“Leonard switches easily between humor and poignancy, his voice always unique and yet familiar.”

—Fitz Cahall, The Dirtbag Diaries

“Sixty Meters to Anywhere is an honest, gritty memoir of how climbing and adventure can help put the pieces of someone’s life back together again.”

—Stacy Bare, director, Sierra Club Outdoors

“There’s nowhere as ‘exposed’ as on a knife-ridge arête thousands of feet above the earth, connected to a mountain by only multicolored string and some aluminum knickknacks—except maybe the way Brendan Leonard has exposed how those particular circumstances changed his perspective forever, and could possibly change yours.”

—Jeremy Collins, author of Drawn: The Art of Ascent

“Since climbing’s earliest days, nonclimbers have asked ‘Why?’ In Sixty Meters to Anywhere, Brendan Leonard gives the best answer I’ve ever heard.”

—Shannon Davis, former editor, Climbing

“In an age where ‘adventure’ becomes ever more professional and branded, Brendan Leonard keeps it real. . . . His stories are funny, honest, and emotional and capture perfectly why adventure feels so important.”

—Alastair Humphreys, a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year

“Don’t read this book unless you enjoy laughing, adventure, honesty, humility, and excellent storytelling.”

—Peter Brown Hoffmeister, author of Graphic the Valley and The End of Boys