By Jim Stanford on November 11, 2009
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Climber Conrad Anker has visited Jackson in recent weeks for a couple of speaking gigs, notably to promote the Teton Boulder Project.
Tonight his wife, Jenni Lowe-Anker, will share her story of love, loss and recovery at the National Museum of Wildlife Art. As one might infer, Lowe-Anker is the widow of Alex Lowe, who died in an avalanche in the Himalayas in 1999. Conrad Anker was one of Lowe’s best friends and survived the avalanche. He and Jenni shared their grief together and wound up marrying in 2001.
Jenni Lowe-Anker is a painter and author of the memoir Forget Me Not, winner of a National Outdoor Book Award last year.
Todd Wilkinson, writing in the Big Sky Journal, calls the book “part catharsis, part paean to Alex, part valentine to Anker, part motherly explanation to her sons.” He writes:
Lowe-Anker’s book lets the compassionate and the curious into the family’s struggle, on her terms. Besides the sweet poetry of her writing, Forget Me Not is a ponderance about the choices we all make; a reflection on the tradeoffs between pursuit of fame versus the toll on family; material wealth versus spiritual well-being; and the bittersweet paradox that, from out of unspeakable trauma, the hope of deeper meaning and solace for survivors can sometimes prevail.
The talk is free and begins at 7 p.m. The event is presented by Womentum, a project to instill leadership in women through mentoring and other inspirational programs. The group’s roster reads like a who’s who of strong, dynamic women in the community.
Jim – thanks for the great overview of a fine evening shared with Jennifer Lowe-Anker at the National Museum of Wildlife Art.
Forget Me Not is worth a thorough read by all members of our mountain-loving community.