Silvia Vasquez-Lavado at BluSeed Studios – Kickass Writers Festival

On Saturday, 8/20 ACW will present mountaineer, entrepreneur, and humanitarian, Silvia Vasquez-Lavado, the first Peruvian woman to climb Mt. Everest, and the first openly gay woman to climb The Seven Summits (the highest mountains on each of the seven continents). Her debut memoir, In The Shadow of The Mountain (Henry Holt, 2022) tells the story of how an early life of abuse and addiction led her to discover hiking as a method of healing. These pursuits transformed her life and empowered her to not only climb the world’s most challenging summits, but also to found the non-profit, Courageous Girls “…dedicated to healing and empowering survivors of violence and abuse through adventures in nature.” Her memoir is currently being adapted into a major motion picture starring Selena Gomez.

Silvia Vasquez-Lavado will be in conversation with an interviewer on stage. She will answer questions from the audience and sign books after the event.