Holding Fast (Book Review)
This past week I finished reading the book called Holding Fast: The Untold Story of the Mount Hood Tragedy. It was the amazing and heart-breaking story of Kelly James, who, along with his friends Brian Hall and Jerry Cooke set out on a mountain climbing trip near Portland, Oregon – two years ago tomorrow. What was supposed to be a short three-day practice run for an upcoming climb on Mount Everest, turned out to be the final climb for each of these three very skilled, veteran climbers.
Karen James, the author and wife of Kelly James, chronicles the anxiety filled days of the search-and-rescue – days of hoping against hope that her husband would somehow survive the brutal elements of winter at 11,000 feet. Karen brought me right along with her on her journey: the last phone call, the feared phone call, the agonizing wait on the mountain, the heartache of her husband’s fate, the private family moments on their return home, and the discovery of God’s unmistakable care through it all. I was sad and encouraged all at once.
One of my favorite quotes comes from the final chapter:
“After Kelly’s death, I went in search of everything that he had ever written to me….While reading his writings, I noticed that in the majority of them, I was not the sole character. That had never been apparent to me before. Kelly also included his love for God; there had always been three of us in this love affair.”
I enjoy reading biographical books anyway, but I must say that this ranks up there as one of my favorites.
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