Amanda Westwood One Step

Overwhelmed with grief for her dead husband, Amanda Westwood set off to trek the Himalayas and recalibrate amidst the startling beauty.

No one can prepare you for the twists and turns of life. One moment I was living a contented life, then one shocking event up-ended everything. My husband, Graeme, had an unexpected and violent heart attack. I did CPR for 20 minutes in front of my children, and he died in my arms.

As a numbing void threatened to overwhelm me, my children insisted we walk together along the beach at sunrise. Looking at the waves rolling to shore, with clouds billowing in a pink sky, I realised that the beauty of nature rekindled in me a sense of joy. So two years later, at the age of 58, still searching for answers and nursing a grief I could not subdue, I decided to visit Nepal and climb the Himalayas.