Raw, Real, and Relatable.

Brilliant. Powerful, Thought-provoking!

Each sentences I read in Cory Richard's, The Color of Everything, made me gasp for breath. It's as if I was climbing a Himalayan peak with him, clutching his arm, hoping I don't slip and fall to my death or run out of oxygen. Most writers wish they could reach into the depths of their soul to access their truth. Cory writes with precision, humor, and honesty. A great read for the outdoor enthusiasts but what kept the pages turning was Cory's exploration of his mental illness that influenced and changed the trajectory of his life. I have more compassion and empathy for those who struggle with childhood trauma and I am sharing his story with everyone I know.

Susan Purvis
Author, Educator, Explorer
Susan's best-selling memoir, Go Find: My Journey to Find the Lost--And Myself.
www.susanpurvis.com

Before picking up The Color of Everything, I had never heard of Cory Richards. In case you haven't either, he's most well known for being a National Geographic photographer specializing in photography of high altitude mountain climbing. In The Color of Everything, Richards details his life. He opens with an intense telling of being buried alive by an avalanche. Then, the book swings back to his childhood, through his adolescence, and eventually to the avalanche and beyond. The book is broken up into three parts, of which I loved the first two. The third felt disorganized to me, which really soured the ending.

What I loved about this book:
-Richards's descriptions of his family, family trauma, and how it impacted his life perspective and behaviors (trigger warning for domestic violence)
-The details of climbing mountains! I love the sense of adventure, awe of nature, and severity of high altitude mountain climbing (did you know that 22% of people who attempt to climb a mountain >8,000 meters die while doing so?!)
-Richards's experiences with mental illness -- and he has a broad spectrum of diagnoses he openly shares about, as well as his treatment attempts
-Richards's general openness with the pain he's lived with, including his being named as a perpetrator during the height of the #MeToo movement

What was harder to get behind:
As I mentioned, the third part of this book felt disorganized, disconnected, not cohesive. The first two parts followed, more or less, a consecutive telling of Richards's life. Even when the history moved back and forth, it was easy to follow and highly readable (although emotionally challenging). The third part felt like Richards had a lot he still wanted to say, on a wide variety of topics, and did a massive brain dump. It didn't all come together well, some of it is his story, some of it is random facts and statistics, and some of it used a different narrator voice (this was really noticeable to me in the story about his girlfriend who was a sex worker). And despite his vast struggles, I felt like Richards's ego shines throughout, and that made him difficult for me to like at times. Lastly, the acknowledgments really bugged me.

Overall, I would recommend this book. It's interesting and powerful. I'm hopeful the final version will have some editing that will improve the third part. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed reading Richards story of how he has excelled and learned from experiences.
This book is an easy read, but has a lot of depth. I say easy as in his voice makes you want to continue reading his story and listening to all the challenges he has overcome.
I really enjoyed this memoir and will be recommending it.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC

In The Color of Everything, Cory Richards narrates his journey from troubled kid to an adult who finds himself. That’s the heart of the book. What makes the book something far beyond the usual mental health narrative is who he became publicly, and, privately, along the way.

Mr. Richards always climbed with his father. And, after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and treated for it sporadically, he developed an interest in photography, in which he excelled. His love of climbing led him to scale the most challenging peaks in the world, and his photographs of those and other journeys earned him not only publication in The National Geographic, but a photo of himself on an issue of the magazine.

I think he traveled the world for about a decade, seeking experiences that would, as he says, calm his internal chaos, including a silent Buddhist retreat in Thailand in addition to the self-medication provided by the adrenaline rush of harrowing climbs, in all but one case without supplemental oxygen. He returned home when his father was diagnosed with cancer, but still the restlessness of feeling that he neither knew himself nor who he was in the larger scheme of things persisted. He tried many kinds of therapy and medication, but it took a then unorthodox treatment to literally reset his mind.

There is so much to this book - adventure, an introduction to feminism, mental illness, relationships, and, above all, the quest for self and meaning - that a comprehensive review would take many pages. Cory Richards is extremely talented. The writing is outstanding. And the willingness to bare his journey and soul on the page is a remarkable achievement.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher.

Cory Richards’, “The Color of Everything” was a phenomenal read. It’s a memoir that is full of adventure and heartbreak. Its beautifully written, in that it reads like prose yet carries such a tasteful poetic flavor to it. I haven’t had a page turner in quite some time, but I found it with this one.

Cory’s life is nothing short of wild. Adventure and fast living exist as a survival mechanism and method of escape from the chaos that he experiences within. Eventually the weight of his past and inability to slow down catch up with him. Through a long series of hardships and losses, he’s forced inward and almost loses himself in the process.

I feel wiser and more contemplative having read Cory’s words. Truthfully, I didn’t want the book to end. It’s the first book I’ve given five stars to in a while.

Thanks to Random House Publishers and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Cory loved the outdoors since he was a kid. While mountain climbing,he was in an accident. This accident made him look back at his life in a different way and change the direction of his future. A good book.

“In order to escape madness, I will live madly. I will risk my life in order to save it.”

Great read! This book reads like one of the greats. It provides insight into the struggles of mental health and the family unit.

This was an excellent book. It reads like Hemingway's As I Lay Dying. Try this one, you will love it.