Lee den Hond adds ‘author’ to her stripes
ROSEBANK – The third South African woman to summit Mount Everest said she felt loved when people flocked in to have their copies signed at her book launch at Exclusive Books.
Exclusive Books in Rosebank was packed with people for the launch of adventurer Lee den Hond’s book What Happens When You Say Yes?
Den Hond is the country’s third woman to have summited Mount Everest and is also an athlete and businesswoman.
Sports presenter, Englishman, Dan Nicholl began the conversation with the author who said her book was about her journey and how she had put together experiences to inspire every other optimist.
Explaining the inspiration behind her book, Den Hond said, “It all started with me climbing Mount Everest. I was inspired when watching a programme about a guy who spoke about achieving the impossible and I thought to myself, ‘why go to base-camp when you can go to the top’? It was then that she immediately made the decision to attempt to summit Mount Everest.
Den Hond said she then went to Google and typed in, “How do I climb Mount Everest?” The journey in preparation for the climb began in June 2012. “I was lucky to finish with only five blisters. We raised a lot of money climbing Mount Everest and built the Field of Dreams Children’s Centre,” said Den Hond and added that the greatest part of the book is that it is so personal and it reaches out to an individual who asks themselves if they can do something and also get the answers to help them.
She said that, although not literally, most of the people who were attending the launch had ‘climbed up’ the mountain with her and even when she tackled the challenge of walking through the desert, she felt their support from afar.
After establishing the centre in 2015, Den Hond had completed a 251km sand marathon in the Sahara Desert to raise funds for the centre which she successfully completed in just over seven days.
Kim Den Hond, Lee’s twin sister, acknowledged, in emotional words, that her sister inspires her and so many other people every day.
Lee concluded, “There’s so much to do in this life; do it for a reason; do it for a purpose. It’s the ‘why’ you’re doing it which leads you to the ‘how’ and ultimately across the line. Just say, yes!”
Details: Exclusive Books events@exclusivebooks.co.za
Have you read the book What Happens When You Say Yes? If yes, send your reviews to the editor ashtynm@caxton.co.za
