Sylvia Vasquez Lavado is the first Peruvian woman to summit Everest, the world's highest mountain,

and the first openly gay woman to complete the

seven summits, the seven highest mountains on each of the seven continents. Her new book,

In the Shadow of the Mountain, a memoir of courage, explores the sexual abuse she endured as a child,

the time she spent trying to outrun her pain, manifest addictions to alcohol, to work, and to sex,

and the vision that led her to the mountain and to healing itself.

Sylvia, thank you so much for doing this.

Alicia, thank you so much for the visit invitation.

I am just thrilled.

What an opportunity.

Thank you.

Sylvia, you're right.

Some people are drawn up the mountain for glory.

Others are pushed up by pain. Sylvia, what was the pain that drew you

to the mountain? By the time I was climbing Everest, I had an accumulation of pain, yet the main pain

that led me to this journey was the unfortunate experience that I had to go through, which unfortunately, wanting three women

around the world have to experience it, which is the trauma of surviving sexual assault as a little

girl. And unfortunately, this happened for many years. That shame had caused so much chaos in my life,

had developed into an addiction that had marked my

life quite a bit, yet also at the time I was bringing a lot of my grief, having lost my

mother, having lost very dear person in my life. So there was an accumulation yet all started

by the journey of trying to heal

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