How I overcame A LIFETIME OF TRAUMA

Standing at the base camp of Everest, I took in the sheer size of the mountain that was towering above me. Behind me lay miles of rocky terrain and ahead of me, a steep ascent.

I knew that one day, I would finish the climb and take in the world from the top. It was 2005, and after years of trauma, a spiritual experience meant that I had finally found my purpose in life – to climb mountains.

Having grown up in Peru, the home of the Andes mountain range, mountains were always in sight around me. But while they were magnificent and beautiful, my childhood