When mountains are your salvation, what keep your mental weather calm and free of storms, how do you cope if theyтАЩre out of reach?
After spending a decade restlessly globetrotting in search of a way of life that worked for him, journalist Kieran Cunningham alighted on Sondrio, a small town in┬аLombardy, Italy. A stoneтАЩs throw from the Alps, there he found the perfect combination of fresh mountain air, a strong network of local friends and lots of climbing. Finally he was able to accept and manage his diagnosis of Bipolar 1. And then Lombardy found itself the European epicentre of┬аCovid-19 and subject to the strictest of lockdowns.
┬а
What does a climber do when his beloved peaks are off limits?┬аWhen heтАЩs only permitted to leave the house for his weekly sanctioned grocery shop? When all the things that help him maintain his delicate equilibrium are taken away? As Kieran feels his┬аmental health begin to crumble, he looks desperately for something he can climb to help rid him of his excess energy and hopefully get him back on track.
┬а
Kieran finds himself navigating the walls of his house over and over while gazing at the mountain ranges so tantalisingly close. He dreams of that first euphoric climb тАУ alone in the clouds, tired, happy, sated. Climbing the Walls┬аis a memoir about┬аmental health┬аand the power of┬аnature and exercise. ItтАЩs both a devastatingly honest account of living with Bipolar 1 and a love song to small-town Italian life and the high places that keep him healthy.
┬а