I was reading Mind Magic by clinical professor of neurosurgery at Stanford University, James Doty when I learned about Silvia Vasquez-Lavado’s fascinating story.
Silvia’s life story is one of those examples of the incredible capacity of humans to recover from adversities and become a powerful example of antifragility and perseverance. Silvia became an avid mountaineer, and by 2015, she already climbed Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Mount Elbrus in Russia, Aconcagua in Argentina and Mount Kosciuszko in Australia. Interestingly, climbing mountains had a profound meaning for Silvia.
I learnt from Doty’s book that Silvia was a victim of childhood sexual abuse during her childhood in Peru, and the silence from her family towards it created a deep emotional and psychological wound on her. These wounds led her to substance abuse, depression and broken relationships with women in her twenties. Which, by the way, had to cover up her sexuality from her family.
Despite all these traumatic episodes, she became successful in high-tech Silicon Valley, a highly male-dominated environment. However, those neglected wounds were still affecting her. Finally, in 2005, her Mother invited her to a ceremony with Ayahuasca in her native Peru. During that ceremony, Silvia had a profound vision in which her younger self appeared to her and called her to walk together in a valley surrounded by mountains. This experience was meaningful and gave her a new sense of purpose.
In 2014, she decided to start a nonprofit called Courageous Girls to empower other young survivors of sexual abuse through mountaineering.
There’s a lot more to learn from Silvia’s inspiring life. I believe that she is an incredible example of a brave woman who, despite all the difficulties that she faced in different facets of her life, was capable of becoming more assertive and wiser. She became an inspiring example for many girls and women who were in similar traumatic situations and showed them that they had the inner power to surpass adversities.
Sapiens Lara 