I have been asked why I would want to go through the exercise of writing a book, having it edited, finding publishers, doing the marketing and all the other things that go along with trying to at least break even in the process. It is not as if writing a book was something on my “bucket list” although everyone thinks about it from time to time.

The decision came to me after I had done a few presentations about our climb of Mount Kilimanjaro. I realized that the climb is not something that everyone, and especially people my age, are prepared to do. It was brought home even more when I realized the interest that people had in helping others as we had done by using the climb as a platform to raise money to bring clean water and classrooms to Tanzania. There was a need to make people understand that my son and I are two ordinary people who were able to accomplish something extraordinary through perseverance and hard work.

I hope that people will enjoy following us on our adventure as much as we enjoyed doing it. My goals in writing the book with Chris’ input were the following:

• To encourage people of all ages to set goals for themselves and to strive to attain them, no matter how lofty they may be. It is never too late to try to reach a goal. A healthy lifestyle is key;
• To take people who may never climb a mountain on our adventure up and down Mount Kilimanjaro, enlighten those who are thinking of making the trek and bring back fond memories for those who have done it; and
• To help people realize the immense power of one or two people in making a difference in the lives of so many who desperately need the help.

If one or more of these goals is met for each reader, the long hours put into the book writing exercise will have been more than worth it.