“Heartfelt, raw, and unflinchingly honest. If you’re looking for something that speaks to your soul and gives you permission to dive headlong into whatever shape of a life you choose, More is the read you’re looking for.”
"Everything about this book takes my breath away. Makja's honesty, her heart, and her fearlessness knows no bounds. I am in awe."
— Natalie Baszile, author of Queen Sugar and We Are Each Other's Harvest
"As a fellow climber and parent myself, I couldn’t put More down: It resounds with deep echoes of the human experience, and reveals the tightrope walk between risk and stability”
— Matt Samet, author of Death Grip
and former editor of Climbing
“In this epistolary memoir, Burhardt relays the emotional challenges of becoming a mother while attempting to retain a sense of her own identity. Raw, passionate, and stinging.”
"If you’re looking for the usual motherhood memoir, look somewhere else. But if you’re looking for a raw memoir about the tensions between motherhood and the shifts in one’s identity and not sure how you feel about it, this is your book."
“Majka gives a beautifully honest account of the questions and inner dialogue so many people face with motherhood. For anyone questioning the balance of adventure and parenthood and marriage, More offers a sincere look into how to unwrap the past, present, and future.”
— Beth Rodden, mother and top American rock climber
“An insightful and heartfelt view of what mothering looks like for an ambitious outdoor athlete. Written in the form of a journal for her kids, More is an entertaining read for anyone, and a must-read for anyone considering parenthood.”
— Tommy Caldwell, professional climber, environmental activist, and New York Times–bestselling author of The Push
"More is riveting. Burhardt's writing is so raw and immediate that her journey through motherhood, marriage, climbing and building a conservation organization is our journey, day by day and indeed hour by hour. It is full of joy, fear, frustration, passion, possibility, and the intensity of love -- a woman's story, but above all an enthralling and motivating human story. Highly recommended!"
— Anne-Marie Slaughter,
Author of Unfinished Business: Women Men Work Family.
"More is an intimate, frank, first-person account of the dramatic transition to motherhood, in the middle of a life already full of incredible risk, beauty, and passion. Parenthood changes everything, and it’s fascinating to accompany Majka Burhardt as she negotiates this new route and finds a deeper sense of herself along the way."
— Chelsea Conaboy, author of Mother Brain:
How Neuroscience Is Rewriting the Story of Parenthood.
"The fierce candor of Majka Burhardt's beautiful memoir is something to behold, for in More she’s got an audience to whom she cannot lie: the book is addressed to her twin children, and in the clarifying light of that testimony all of life is reconfigured. How to be a daughter, a mother, a wife, an elite climber, a breadwinner, a woman of keen intelligence tangled up but trying to stay true, a citizen of the world. In Burhardt's story we get the untold tale of all mothers, the sorrow of the unsaid, the grief that trails after it, the choices made. You might think a mountain guide and world-class climber would be all bravado, but the model of courage in this memoir isn’t found in feats of daring, but down the aisle of a grocery store, or on the side of the road, where a woman cries in a minivan, then decides on love and joy, on difficulty, on more, and drives home.”
— Charles D’Ambrosio, New York Times notable book of the year author of The Point
"More is an intimate, frank, first-person account of the dramatic transition to motherhood, in the middle of a life already full of incredible risk, beauty, and passion. Parenthood changes everything, and it’s fascinating to accompany Majka Burhardt as she negotiates this new route and finds a deeper sense of herself along the way."
— Rick Ridgeway, bestselling author,
mountaineer, and former Patagonia executive
“Majka’s writings not only made me laugh out loud, but I was impressed by her willingness to share her most vulnerable inner thoughts and fears as a mother during this critical time of political, social, and environmental turmoil. This series of letters offers an insightful perspective about how our intense love for our children can enable us to do what’s best in the face of all the challenges of life and the frequent messiness of motherhood.”
— Lynn Hill, climbing legend, mom, and El Capitan free-climbing pioneer
“These passionate, truth-telling letters are riveting reminders that the days and nights of new motherhood are another kind of extreme sport.”
— Marni Jackson, author of The Mother Zone
"Aside from the loss of a loved one, there may be no transition in life more abrupt than parenthood. Majka‘s vulnerable yet visceral journey of reflection is as graceful, brave and calculating as the accomplishments of her climbing career. It will inspire anyone faced with hardship to look within.”
— Jenni Lowe-Anker, mother of three and author of Forget Me Not
"In a series of journal entries spanning from her early pregnancy in 2015 through the first four-and-a-half years of motherhood, Burhardt describes with heartrending candor a dilemma many of us will face: How do you maintain a core identity while embracing all-encompassing life changes? Both adrenaline seekers and armchair enthusiasts will admire Burhardt’s raw honesty and marvel at her incredible achievements."
