A Light Through the Cracks cover art

A Light Through the Cracks

A Climber's Story

Preview

Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

A Light Through the Cracks

By: Beth Rodden
Narrated by: Beth Rodden
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $33.99

Buy Now for $33.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.
Cancel

About this listen

Renowned rock climber Beth Rodden’s inspiring memoir about overcoming devastating trauma, refusing to be held hostage by fear, and taking a leap toward healing.

Beth Rodden is twenty years old and already an elite rock climber when a climbing excursion in Kyrgyzstan escalates into a nightmare. Beth, her boyfriend, and two other climbers are kidnapped by militant rebels. After six harrowing days of hiding, marching, and dodging gunfire, they miraculously escape captivity. But fear follows Beth home, and pushing past it becomes a fixation.

She and her boyfriend, Tommy, train obsessively, achieving rock-climbing greatness and conquering each groundbreaking goal they set, all the while burying the terrors of Kyrgyzstan deep inside. Then comes an unexpected breaking point. For Beth, a woman at the top of her profession, the only way to overcome the anxiety that still controls her is to let go of the lifeline she’s been clinging to. Blowing up her successful and familiar life, Beth clears a path to a new one—a healthy new normal beyond the anxieties of the past and the myopic pursuit of athletic perfection.

Charting a powerful journey of ambition, hope, love, physical and emotional endurance, and the true fulfilment of being oneself, A Light through the Cracks is Beth’s story of climbing up and through life.

©2024 Beth Rodden (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Climbing & Mountaineering Women Inspiring

Critic Reviews

“Offering glimpses into Rodden’s exhilarating climbing culture, emotional vulnerabilities, marital turmoil, and steely personal discipline, which continues to ensure her survival. A dramatic account of an international ordeal that nearly upended the career of a fearless young rock climber.” Kirkus Reviews

“[R]ock climber Beth Rodden's inspiring memoir [is] inherently fascinating, inspiring, and exceptionally well written…Highly recommended…” Midwest Book Review

“In this breathtaking memoir, Beth seamlessly weaves together her stories as an all-time athlete, kidnapping survivor, partner, and mother. She brings the reader into her inner world as she learns to let go of fear and expectations in order to find her true strength—not just the strength of her body, which set records and made her a legend of the climbing community, but the strength of her very heart and soul.” —Sanni McCandless Honnold, cofounder of Outwild, life coach, and mother

What listeners say about A Light Through the Cracks

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I loved it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this autobiography. Though I’m not a climber or athlete, I could relate to so much of Beth’s story and her emotions. It’s wonderfully honest with the right mix of climbing and non-climbing content. I wish there were more women like Beth writing and sharing their stories.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.