SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOARDMAN TASKER AWARD FOR MOUNTAIN LITERATURE

Learning to cope when your world crumbles

'I'd always expected to meet my biggest challenge in the Himalayas or Yosemite. Instead it's happening a little above sea level in a one-bed apartment in a small town in Italy'

After spending a decade globe-trotting in search of a sustainable way of life, Kieran Cunningham alighted on Sondrio in the Italian Alps. There he found the perfect combination of mountains, a strong network of friends and lots of climbing. Finally he was able to accept and manage his diagnosis of Bipolar I. And then he found himself in the epicentre of Covid-19 with his beloved mountains off limits.

How do you cope when the things you need to maintain your delicate equilibrium are taken away? As Kieran's mental health crumbles, he looks desperately for something to help him face his greatest trial.

Climbing the Walls is a devastatingly honest memoir about struggling with mental health and the power of nature and exercise.