A powerful heart-wrenching debut novel about ambition survival and our responsibility toward one another Dixon was once an Olympic-level runner. But he missed the team by two-tenths of a second and ever since that pain decades ago he hasnt allowed a goal to consume him. But when his charming older brother Nate suggests that they attempt to be the first Black American men to summit Mount Everest Dixon cant refuse. The brothers are determined to prove something--to themselves and to each other. Dixon interrupts his orderly life as a school psychologist leaving behind disapproving friends family and one particularly fragile student Marcus. Once on the mountain they are met with extreme weather conditions oxygen deprivation and precarious terrain. But as much as theyve prepared for this Mt. Everest is always fickle. And in one devastating moment Dixons world is upended. Dixon returns home and attempts to resume his job but things have shifted: for him and for the students he left behind when he chose Mt. Everest. Ultimately Dixon must confront the truth of what happened on the mountain and come to terms with who can and cannot be saved. DIXON DESCENDING offers us a captivating shattering portrait of the ways were reshaped by our decisions--and what it takes to angle ourselves once again toward hope.
