USA, Rodale, 2001, 1st edition. 308 pp. Hardcover with dust jacket. Fine
An amazing story of a bush pilot whose plane crashed into Mt McKinley in 1981. The pilot survived but lost his lower legs. 20 years later he learned to climb, and summited the great peak.
In December 1981, Hommer was piloting a charter plane with three passengers on a sightseeing trip over Mount McKinley when it crashed high on the mountain. Although the location was known and reachable, weather prevented rescue for five days. Two of the passengers died, including his brother-in-law. The crash claimed Hommer's feet and destroyed his marriage. And, for a time, he also lost his will to live, succumbing to bitterness. But after realizing that "Flying was as much a part of me as my legs," he decided to bury his self-pity and get back into life, working to earn his license again and eventually becoming a full-time pilot for American Airlines.
But flying again was only half the battle. He needed to confront the mountain that almost killed him in order to feel whole again. So, using high-tech prosthetics, Hommer began running and cycling to get in shape in order to climb Mount McKinley, a feat he achieved in 1999 after one failed attempt. In this inspiring memoir, he writes honestly about all that he lost and gained during the 20 years it took to fully recover from the crash. "I was born into the outdoors," he writes, and it was to the outdoors that he returned in order to be born again.
