In love with a daredevil

Where the Mountain Casts Its Shadow

Maria Coffey

St. Martin’s Press, $23.95

Maria Coffey lost her boyfriend to a fatal climbing accident on Mt. Everest in 1982. She then wrote her first book, “Fragile Edge,” which peered into the world of climbers through her tragic love affair with the late British mountaineer Joe Tasker. Now, 10 books and two decades later, Coffey takes a broader view of the obsession that all too often lures climbers to their deaths.

Coffey begins where Jon Krakauer leaves off. His characters strive, suffer and vanish “into thin air.” This compelling book offers voices from the other side of the mountaineering story -- those left behind.

With her history of personal pain, Coffey has an entree into the shattered worlds of wives, husbands and children. A consistent pattern emerges: The climbers’ addiction pushes them to a terrible end. Coffey explores all dimensions of these tragedies, including why anyone would attempt a relationship with a serious climber.

-- Kenneth R. Weiss