For Russell Fralick, there were never enough adventures, never enough challenges, never enough dangers. His ambition drove him to seek the next beig thrill in hanging hundreds of feet off the ground in his native United Kingdom and countries around the world. He was consumed with climbing thte highest mountains and most daunting rock faces.
And then it happened. In the wet darkness of a climb gone awry, he came face-to-face with death. Suddenly this man who had been running from quesitons of faith and immortality as fast as he could climb the next mountain was confronted with not just the end of his climbing career but the end of life itself.
In Over the Top, Russell Fralick pulls you up the highlands with him to experience all of the adventure, heart-pounding excitement, and absolute terror that come with extreme climbing. Join him as he scales glaciers and mountains in search of meaning that goes beyond the next big rush.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Russell Fralick is an active climber, climbing instructor, mountain leader and semi-professional deer stalker. Russell lives int eh Lake District of England with his wife and two children.
MY REVIEW:
The first chapter of this book pulls you in and doesn't let you go, even to the last page. This is the story of a man running for the next adrenaline rush and away from anything that will keep him from this quest, including God.
I'll be honest, I'm not a climber (nor will I ever be) so there were areas of the book, when he went into great detail about his climbs, where my eyes glazed over. I really had no idea what he was talking about, however, it didn't keep me from wanting to finish reading this book. For climbers, his details about his climbs will be all the more riveting than the book already is.
I really liked how the Lord pursued him. People in his life that had given their life to the Lord dropped seeds of faith into Russell's life and we see the results of this when Russell finds himself in the most horrible event ever in a climb. Who else is there to turn to when your life hangs, literally, in the balance.
There are times in this book you'll find your heart in your throat and tears in your eyes as you experience what he experiences. Not only in his climbing adventures but as he becomes a Christian and what that all entails. There are profound observations such as the fact that Christians are scorned but other religions are not. I also love how he gave Christ his all and, not because He saved him from a perilous situation, but because he realized that Christ died for him and He deserved to have Russell accept Him as Savior.
There is a lot of beauty in his writing - about his climbing, about the nature around him and about God. He observes things that some of us take for granted and it brings you back to realizing the beauty of all this.
I highly recommend this book. It's riveting and full of wonderful, thought provoking stories and observations.
*This book was provided to me for my honest review by Discovery House Publicity
Blessings - Julie
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