My rating:
add to my books
Loading...
Forget Me Not: A Memoir
High in the Himalaya, a world-class adventurer dies, leaving a wife, three young sons and a best friend to cope with their grief... In 1999, well-known mountaineer, Alex Lowe, died in an avalanche on the remote Himalayan Mountain Shishapangma, leaving his wife Jennifer alone to raise their three children. Alex was widely considered one of the greatest modern climbers of ou...more
Hardcover, 276 pages
Published
May 26th 2008
by Mountaineers Books
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
409)
I was intrigued to find this book in the Grand Teton National Park bookstore. I was familiar with the story: Alex Lowe, famous climber, is tragically killed by an avalanche. His friend, world-class climber Conrad Anker, survives, only to marry Alex's widow, Jennifer, shortly thereafter and provide for Jennifer and Alex's three little boys. Yowsa! This proves that real life is often stranger than fiction. That said, this memoir is disappointing in that it doesn't ring true. I'm not even su...more
I didn't always like the personalities involved but I found that I wanted to keep on reading the book so it must have been well done. I have to admit, after reading "Three Cups of Tea" and later "Three Cups of Deceit," I was a bit skeptical about some of the people involved.
I did have a really hard time with some of the decisions that the younger Alex made. There was a definite disconnect between saying things like "a deep appreciation for the wild," "...more
I did have a really hard time with some of the decisions that the younger Alex made. There was a definite disconnect between saying things like "a deep appreciation for the wild," "...more
Alex Lowe was a renowned, ferociously strong and technical climber throughout the 90s. He gained wider recognition after being mentioned in Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" and portrayed on multiple magazine covers. Sadly, he died in an avalanche in 1999.
Lowe is, at least at first glance, the subject of "Forget Me Not," written by Lowe's wife Jennifer. She is an artist, free spirit and onetime amateur climber. Jennifer Lowe-Anker's book introduces us to Alex, and thei...more
Lowe is, at least at first glance, the subject of "Forget Me Not," written by Lowe's wife Jennifer. She is an artist, free spirit and onetime amateur climber. Jennifer Lowe-Anker's book introduces us to Alex, and thei...more
Ok, first can I just say that the cover of this book and the contents of the book DO NOT FIT ONE ANOTHER. The cover makes the story sound like a harlequin romance novel, but the book is actually a well written account of what it was like being married to the famous climber Alex Lowe. The book gives the most amazing accounts of their climbs in their early 20's, about the nomadic lifestyle they built together, exposes the struggles that come from being married to a professional climber who always ...more
I admittedly got sucked right into this book even though I know nothing of climbing or that kind of lifestyle. A few times I wanted to scream at the author because she seems to put up with way more than she should. I understand Alex has a passion but he leaves her high and dry multiple times to fend for herself and while pregnant to go on his expeditions. This certainly wouldn't be my cup of tea. I did appreciate the way the book was written to make even a layperson like me grasp the concept...more
I devoured this book. I really enjoyed it, and would recommend it to anyone. It was a nice read, and it surprisingly did not make me cry as much as I was afraid it would. Very interesting, touching story.
I loved this book. It gave me a sense of adventure as the reader and made me want to go out and climb a mountain with a free spirit. I oftened admired the way they explored and enjoyed every simple thing this planet offered. The love story was inspiring with the amount of time they spent apart and how they were able to keep the trust and love within each other and be each other's support system from miles and miles away. I only hope that I can be as strong as Jennifer Lowe-Anker when death b...more
My interest in reading this came from the fact that I live in Bozeman and even without being involved specifically in the climbing community, I have met or been in the presence of several of the people mentioned in this book. That, combined with the descriptions of familiar locations around Bozeman, and growing up with a mother who had a passion for hiking, brought this story home for me. Although I do not have a personal passion for climbing, I have certainly watched my mother pursue such a p...more
I really enjoyed this book. Lowe-Anker is a phenomenal artist with words and a paintbrush and her story inspired me. Here are some reasons why...
1. The title--yes, I judge books by their cover (author's painting of the Tetons) and title and was not disappointed in this case
2. She lived a life of adventure but always had her family as first priority.
3. She supported the man she loved in what inspired him to greatness.
4. She wasn't afraid to deeply discuss her envelop...more
1. The title--yes, I judge books by their cover (author's painting of the Tetons) and title and was not disappointed in this case
2. She lived a life of adventure but always had her family as first priority.
3. She supported the man she loved in what inspired him to greatness.
4. She wasn't afraid to deeply discuss her envelop...more
Memoirs are not typically my cup of tea, but this book was actually very interesting. This book was written by a local author who lost her husband Alex Lowe,a famous ice-climber, in an avalanche. It chronicles their lives together and her life after his death where she finds solice in Alex's good friend who survived the avalanche Conrad Anchor. It was very interesting to see through her eyes of what being married to a professional climber is like.
Wonderful memoir of a life of a world class adventurer . Written by his wife , a tribute to her husband and the choices he made with his life. Unusual for a wilderness book in that is looks at the impact one's lifestyle has on ones family and friends. It is a testament to the commitment and love this couple had for each other and their three boys. It is full of compassion and hope and is a thank you to all the people that touched their lives.
This was an interesting memoir about the wife of a renowned ice climber, Alex Lowe, who died in an avalanche. For me it was a fascinating look into the life of someone who did things I would never dare - let's just say that I have a very strong self-preservation instinct. =) An interesting twist is that she marries her husband's good friend and climbing partner from the incident where he dies. I thoroughly enjoyed the read.
The book is titled a memoir, but Jon Krakauer's forward calls it a biography. And therein lies the problem. It's not reflective enough to be a memoir and not unbiased(?)/well-researched (it's weird to write this particularly because the author is Alex Lowe's widow) enough to be a bio. I found the book jumped around too much temporally, especially at the beginning (maybe intended to be the style - start with the present, jump back to where everything began, but there were other stories that ju...more
An ok read. Gets better the further in you get. Hard to feel close to such a self centered risk taker who is overly wound up and hyper (Alex Lowe, the author's deceased husband). The writing is mediocre, the technical language of mountaineering is cumbersome, and the relationship she develops with her dead husband's best friend is questionable from a psychological standpoint.
I liked this a lot. The author writes of her life with her husband, Alex Lowe, an amazing world-class ice and mountain climber. She herself was a skilled amateur climber, although she climbed much less as their three sons came along. This is a fascinating look at the life of someone who continually challenges himself, and the choices that must be made to support this lifestyle. Much of the story is told through Alex's letters to his wife and children, whom he clearly loved. Unfortunately, A...more
A very poignant, loving, yet memorable tribute to the author's husband. The beginning of the book is too long but it does weave a good story once you get past the first part. After reading this book, though I'm more interested in the author's artwork which is discussed a great deal in this book. All in all a nice story but not going to rock anyone's world.
Jennifer Lowe-Anker’s memoir tells the story of her husband’s death in a tragic mountaineering accident, and how she eventually finds solace in an unexpected person. Tom Brokaw calls it “a beautifully written story of great love, great daring, great loss, and great recovery. Most of all, it is a story of great courage.”
I happened upon this book at the library and absolutely loved it. She is an artist and you can tell from her writing style. Very interesting to read of a lifestyle so different from my own. A great example of living life to it's fullest. Makes me wonder why I don't read non-fiction more often.
Started off stronger than it ended, A little too artificial in her writing after her husband died... as if she needed to reconstruct the narrative of marrying his best friend in a way that would be more palliative. That said, it was neat to read about Boulder and places I have explored.
Alex Lowe, one of the world's greatest mountain climbers, was killed in an avalanche in 1999 in Tibet. Here, his amazing story is told by the loving wife he left behind with three kids. Although I loved the descriptions of the wild places they visited, and I appreciate the intense passion with which Alex lived his life, I can't get past the sense of irresponsibility and selfishness that would allow a man with three young children to spend his life climbing mountains that bring a high risk of dea...more
A great book about a man, climber, husband, friend and how he affected all who knew him. It gave me a much better understanding what climbing and leaving your loved one's does. A book about great love, great loss, and great recovery.
I nearly finished this book but it is beautiful written, the book is a non fiction book about losing husband, father and soulmate in a climbing accident. Although I do not climb myself, the book is very moving and interesting. Alex lowe was one of the best all round mountaineer and climber of his time. He died while climbing and wanting to ski down one of the highest mountains on earth together with his best friend Conrad Anker and a a friend a fotographer. An avalance swept them away and Conrad...more
An insightful and at times wrenching memoir of love lost and love found, set against a backdrop of the world's wildest places. A must-read for anyone with an adventurous soul. I loved this book!
This book is sticking with me as I hike this summer in the way that "Into Thin Air" did. It also makes me want to write my own autobiography!
I shed some tears over this book - the story of love lost and found again in an unexpected place.
3.5. Badly written but a good story if you're into climbing or mountaineering.
Philosophical and inspirational. I thought it was a moving memoir.
This book is surprisingly good well-written and good on many levels. It's a must read for those interested in technical climbing, as it's the story of Jennifer Lowe-Anker's marriage to Alex Lowe the best mountaineer in the world until he was killed in an avalanche in '99. It's also a terrific memoir of her own life. After she was widowed, she eventually married her husband's best friend, Conrad Anker. I'm always surprised when someone who is not a "writer" writes something great. ...more
The book was pretty good. I cried when she wrote about Alex dying but there was something almost a bit too cheesy about her writing style, like she could actually remember all the specific details she claims to. I also had a hard time getting past how quickly she was "in love" with her husband's best friend and climbing partner. It was an interesting insight though. Makes me glad my husband isn't a climber, I can't imagine living so far apart from each other for so long and worryin...more
This book covers the life of one of the world's greatest climbers as seen from through his wife's eyes. I was mainly interrested in his story and not so much about her life, and so I found the story to be inspiring as far as personal commitment to loved things (it est climbing and family). Alex Lowe was obviously a very dynamic person. The book lost my interest when he dies and his widow fell in love with Alex's best friend. The book was probably one only to be enjoyed by climbers.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
