Fragile Edge: A Personal Portrait of Loss on Everest

Nobody has written more eloquently about the human side of high-altitude mountaineering than Maria Coffey in Fragile Edge. This is a powerful story about loss and the loved ones left behind to sort out their sorrow and confusion, anger and healing. With openness and honesty, Coffey describes her love affair with elite British mountaineer Joe Tasker, who perished with his climbing partner Peter Boardman while attempting Everest's then- unclimbed Northeast Ridge in 1982. She relives her experiences, first within the hard-partying mountaineering scene and then during her long journey to understanding and acceptance of the tragedy that cost her the man she loved.