Climbing Kilimanjaro: Escaping the Metaphorical Couch

Neil Forsberg, an aging and out-of-shape professor- a man inclined to enjoy reading The Economist and the New Yorker on his couch- is invited by friends to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Without a great deal of physical nor mental preparation he undertakes the effort but immediately confronts a far more demanding effort than he had anticipated. He quickly learns that Kilimanjaro is not a trivial hike but is one of the “Seven Summits” – the Seven highest peaks on the Seven Continents. The book details Professor Forsberg’s first encounter with Africa and the challenges he faces in attempting his climb. He develops unique mental strategies – managing to escape the confines of his own “self” and to metaphorically join the more agile and accommodating ravens populating the Kilimanjaro flank. While elevated from his corporeal existence, revelations come to him that Forsberg could not have conceived of prior. Indeed, the loss of the familiar comforting elements of Forsberg’s life, his couches, cause him to reach out and explore other spiritual supports – dimensions having more relevance to life than what contemporary Western existence provides. Forsberg distills the experience meaningfully into a cogent and useful philosophy – a philosophy that transcends the strictures of the more organized religions that bind so many. Included also are vivid descriptions of Kilimanjaro’s magic- and Kilimanjaro’s stars. Aside from this spiritual journey, Professor Forsberg makes observations on the exotic bird and plant life that support him on the climb and, equally important, the descent. He describes the environmental impact of climate change on the Kilimanjaro ecosystem – the imminent loss of its glaciers, flora and fauna. This book will inspire anyone with quests for outdoor adventure, to climb mountains and to search for enlightenment that only nature and deeper thought can provide.