No climber returns from a summit the same person as when he began his ascent. Sometimes the alteration is physical, but more often it's buried within. An unflinching account of extreme feats and devastating loss that takes readers to the highest peaks on six continents and into the deepest valleys of the human soul. Canadian mountaineer Gabriel Filippi dissects what it takes to get to the top of the world, and what that quest takes out of you. Haunted by survivor's guilt and post-traumatic stress disorder, he explains how life on the brink of death can change someone. He chronicles how his experiences on mountains ranging from K2 to Everest to Nanga Parbat, a mountain in Pakistan also known as The Maneater, transformed him from a hubristic young man who pushed himself to the brink into the cautious adventurer who preserved seven lives when he halted an ascent up Everest just an hour from the summit. A story about human perseverance and triumph in the pursuit of one's dreams, and why some people will never give up on trying to climb to the top of the world. Gabriel Filippi is the second Canadian and only Quebecer to climb both faces of Everest. He lives in Montreal.