“Growing is often uncomfortable; we found that embracing discomfort can be motivating,” write Woolley and Ayelet Fishbach in research on how pursuing pain can fuel self-improvement. Melissa Arnot Reid’s memoir, ENOUGH: Climbing Toward a True Self on Mount Everest, is one demonstration of this truth. Reid, a six-time successful Everest climber, describes how she was taught to accept discomfort both in the physical hardship of ascending and the emotional struggles of existence. Her book is not so much about ascending mountaintops as about overcoming the inner mountaintops of self and the pressures from around us.
Reid’s story is gritty and unflinching, never shrinking from revealing the seedy underbelly of her own existence. In her own words, “That discomfort makes me feel happy, which I get is strange. But it makes me feel like I can appreciate other uncomfortable situations because I’m intentionally enduring that.” This sensation aligns with research that accepting uncomfortability can bring more motivation and engagement. Reid’s ability to stand strong against her vulnerabilities is a powerful reminder that awkwardness is not failure but an avenue for growth.
Reid sheds the veneer of her public persona to expose the inner turmoil and pressure to be her “best self” in the memoir. This is familiar with the transience of fame on social media, where authenticity is sacrificed for ideal presentation. While social media fame erodes values, Reid’s narrative invites us to look beyond claps for authenticity.
Reid’s words are not a hike up a mountain but a hike to an authentic self. Her memoir forces us to examine our own perspectives and narratives we enact about ourselves. Vulnerability, according to Brené Brown, is not a weakness but an act of courage. Brown’s work challenges us to recall that vulnerability is the birthplace of joy, belonging, and authenticity. Reid’s book is typical of this in that it is willing to be honest and vulnerable.
Reid’s memoir is an appeal to the embrace of discomfort and vulnerability as means to authenticity. Her memoir is a reminder that self-discovery is not perfection but the embracing of the imperfect and the uncomfortable. As Putsata Reang reminds us, the biggest discipline in writing memoirs is vulnerability. Reid’s memoir is proof of this discipline, a glimpse into the strength of acceptance of who one is.
In a society that too often prizes conformity at the expense of individuality, Reid’s memoir is a source of inspiration and determination. Her life forces us to accept our frailties and to draw courage from pain. It reminds us that we are more similar to each other than we are different from one another, and that our common humanity is that which holds us and expands us together. Reid’s journey is one to motivate us to tackle our own summits, to walk through the uncomfortableness, and find our true selves that reside within.
