Author Tom French to present, The Gap Years:
Climbing, Skiing, and the Journey Back
Saturday, April 18 – 5:30 p.m. Potluck Dinner, 6:30 p.m. Presentation
Jackson, N.H. – Tom French will be at the Jackson Ski Touring Foundation to discuss his new book, “The Gap Years: Climbing, Skiing, and the Journey Back” on Saturday, April 18. The evening begins at 5:30 p.m. with a potluck dinner and the presentation, complete with slide show, will start at 6:30. All are welcome.
Most are familiar with the term gap year, usually defined as the break between high school and college, or even between college and getting a ‘real job.’ French had done both, then in 2019, after retiring from a four decade career in business, he decided to do it again. Before retiring in the true sense, he was determined to return to the activities that had previously defined him – mountaineering, adventure travel, and cross-country ski racing. Could he still do them and did they still have meaning for him – those were the questions his gap year would answer.
One year turned into three as he rebuilt his athletic strength and abilities, doing some of that work here in the Mt. Washington Valley. He competed in cross-country ski marathons and climbed some of the world’s highest mountains, including two expeditions to Everest, which let him also indulge his adventure travel desires. It appears that French answered the first of his questions – he could still physically do those activities from his youth that he so highly prized. As to what meaning that all had for him, that is what “The Gap Years” is all about.
The book received many rave reviews, including this one from author Nathaniel Philbrick: “The Gap Years is engaging, exciting, and revelatory – an adventure story that will take the reader to some of the remotest places in the world and yet remains grounded in the more familiar terrain of the human heart.”
Tom French is a lifelong lover of the outdoors. A senior partner emeritus of McKinsey & Company, he is currently board chair of the Trustees of Reservations, a director of Corning Incorporated, and serves on several other nonprofit boards. He lives in Massachusetts with his family.
This event is a collaboration between White Birch Books, Jackson Ski Touring Foundation, and the Jackson Public Library. Books will be available at the event. Attendees are discouraged from bringing books purchased at other locations. This event is free and open to the public. For more information about the program, call White Birch Books at 603-356-3200 or visit them online at whitebirchbooks.com/events.