Forget Me Not: A Memoir - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
This is a personal account of one of the greatest losses in the climbing world. It is an elegant and gripping story of tragedy, as well as unexpected joy. It is an entree into the emotional world of climbers and their families. The benefits are given to the Nepal-based Khumbu Climbing School.In 1999 Jennifer Lowe's husband Alex Lowe died tragically in an avalanche on the Himalayan mountain Shishapangma, leaving her alone to raise three sons. Alex was widely considered one of the greatest modern climbers and the world mourned his loss - Tom Brokaw did a one-hour special for Dateline, and Sting narrated and composed music for a tribute film.While Jenni and her sons faced the absence of the most important man in their lives, Alex's best friend and longtime climbing partner, Conrad Anker, was dealing with the terrible loss, as well as feelings of survivor's guilt. Jenni and Conrad gradually, and unexpectedly, found solace in one another and married in 2001 - Conrad is now the adoptive father of the three Lowe children.Through letters and expedition notes from Alex, "Forget Me Not" spans continents and tells the story of three people whose lives intertwine to a degree they could never have imagined. Jenni's account takes readers inside a woman's heart and mind as she navigates her shattered life and survives, ultimately finding transformative love through her great loss. From the valleys of Montana to the peaks of the Himalayas, this never-before told story exposes the controversial yet ultimately redemptive power of love.The foreword is by Jon Krakauer.

Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

A remarkable and engaging story April 26, 2008
8 out of 12 found this review helpful

This book is a remarkable and engaging tale of adventure and many emotions: love, grief, perseverence, and recovery. The above editorial review nicely summarizes the book. It is a real page-turner, and is impossible to put down.
However, this tale is more than a riveting adventure story or biography of Alex Lowe. The author, Jennifer Lowe-Anker, succeeds in communicating her emotions and the emotions of her family members and friends. She is candid about her frailties, as well as those of Alex Lowe and his family and friends. The reader can feel her sadness and grief, as well as the grief of their children and family members, and applauds when something extraordinary develops in her life out of this grief.
I especially liked the letters and expedition notes from Alex that were expertly woven into the book. Timely and appropriate quotes from lieterature were well chosen and prefaced each chapter.
The story is compelling, and the telling is honest. It is one of the best non-fiction books that I have ever read.

5 out of 5 stars

Loves and Losses May 14, 2008
7 out of 9 found this review helpful

I loved this book. I spent a stormy afternoon finishing it last week, unable to put it down, swept along between enviable loves, heart wrenching losses, and, of course, climbing expedition dramas; all my favorite components for a great read.
Jenni Lowe-Anker changes mediums from paints to prose with unequivocal success in her rendering of mountain landscapes and the people compelled by them, of whom she is clearly one. She climbed hard with
Alex, raised three boys, and forged a successful career with her painting to help support them. Now, trading
brush for pen, she has written their story.
Jenni's indomitable spirit shines from every page with warmth and genuineness as she navigates the complex loves and losses of her life. She courageously shares both with candid honesty, first through her own
story, then through Alex's letters home from the mountains. These letters are a highlight of the book, an amazing gift she chooses to share.
This is a book about hope. It is a lesson in picking up the pieces and moving forward, moving on with
strength and grace, and an absolute lack of self pity. It is an inspiration to follow one's dreams with passion and originality, to love hard, mourn hard, and love hard again.

5 out of 5 stars

A tale of two passions May 15, 2008
6 out of 8 found this review helpful

Jennifer Lowe-Anker's wonderfully woven tale poignantly describes the emotional heartache experienced by Alex Lowe as he battled daily with his two loves, climbing and his family. I knew of Alex only as a climber, yet this tale describes his immense love and devotion to his wife and family, and his struggle to balance these two oft-competing passions.

As a climber, husband and a father, both my wife and I have struggled with the issues described here, and Lowe-Anker's heartfelt prose brings home the harsh realities of a life lived with love, and the ultimate consequences that can occur as we pursue our dreams.

This is a wonderful book, which causes us to ponder the big questions of love and life, and the true value of every second we have in our hands, and our hearts.

4 out of 5 stars

Great book May 6, 2008
5 out of 8 found this review helpful

The cover flap almost scared me away with words like "...takes readers inside a woman's heart..." I was thinking oh no, "chick book"! But the book really put me in touch with my feminine side, which my wife thought was a good idea :) Ok seriously, I really did enjoy reading this book. You don't have to be a mountain climber to enjoy this book (I'm not) as any terms specific to climbing are explained. Jennifer does a good job of telling her story and engaging the reader and made me remember what is important in life (family). I also like how Alex's expedition notes are woven into the story.

5 out of 5 stars

A memoir to remember May 7, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

In Jennifer Lowe-Anker's captivating life story, she not only tells of her own life in poignant detail but those of so many intertwined. From the beginning as a reader it is hard not to be taken by the passionate relationships between climbers, lovers and friends. Lowe-Anker reminds us of our own loves and losses as she describes falling in love with one of the finest Alpinists of this time. When she writes of his loss, the pang of that raw anguish hits the reader, even though it is mentioned from the beginning.

Death is never an easy thing, but as the author points out it is all around us, ebbing with the tides of life on this earth. As someone in a climbing relationship as well, I particularly related to the fears and elements described in the relationship that Jennifer and Alex Lowe shared, though even if you aren't involved with climbing it captures the core of all human relationships. Reading about the life she lived after she had thought it ended was a show of confidence and courage that everyone can use a dose of.

This book will take you on a journey through many high summits, and a story of how some may find themselves despite the ever changing tides that life brings us. Above all else you will leave the last page rejuvenated to live and love every day to the fullest from reading this heartfelt story of the Lowe and Lowe-Anker family.

The center insert of black and white photos are particularly absorbing.

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