Ascending America: Five Kidney Donors, Fifty Peaks in Fifty States, One Record-Breaking Journey

Matt Harmody

Book cover for Ascending America: Five Kidney Donors, Fifty Peaks in Fifty States, One Record-Breaking Journey
Book cover for Ascending America: Five Kidney Donors, Fifty Peaks in Fifty States, One Record-Breaking Journey
Image for variant 9798999592804
Image for variant 9798999592811
Book cover for Ascending America: Five Kidney Donors, Fifty Peaks in Fifty States, One Record-Breaking Journey
Book cover for Ascending America: Five Kidney Donors, Fifty Peaks in Fifty States, One Record-Breaking Journey
Image for variant 9798999592804
Image for variant 9798999592811

Ascending America: Five Kidney Donors, Fifty Peaks in Fifty States, One Record-Breaking Journey

Ascending America: Five Kidney Donors, Fifty Peaks in Fifty States, One Record-Breaking Journey

Matt Harmody

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Description

What If Saving a Life Didn't Limit You, but Propelled You to New Heights?

When retired emergency physician and kidney donor Matt Harmody joined a team of four other donors to climb the highest peak in every U.S. state, they weren't just chasing a Guinness world record. They were out to prove a radical truth: Life after kidney donation has no limits.

Ascending America takes you on an edge-of-your-seat journey through brutal weather, bone-deep exhaustion, and breathtaking landscapes. Alongside the adventure, Harmody dispels common myths about donation, explains dialysis and recovery in clear, human terms, and reveals breakthroughs shaping the future of transplantation.

Inside this book, you'll discover:

  • Why living kidney donors often outlive the people they save, and why their bodies thrive.
  • How one kidney donation can start a chain that saves dozens of lives.
  • What it really takes to conquer 50 summits in 41 days (and what those challenges reveal about human resilience).
  • The neuroscience of altruism and why donors often gain more than they give.
  • The future of transplantation, from animal organs to stem-cell innovations.

Both a pulse-pounding outdoor adventure and a call to action, Ascending America shows how extraordinary things happen when courage, science, and human generosity collide. Buy your copy today and rethink what is possible.

Critical Reviews

"Original, unique, exceptional, informative, and inspiring... an extraordinary blend of action/adventure and medical insight. Impressively well written and absorbing from cover to cover... especially and unreservedly recommended for both personal reading and academic collections."

- Midwest Book Review

"A compelling blend of endurance, risk, and purpose, combining a gripping expedition narrative with meaningful insight into kidney donation. Harmody's immersive first-person style brings authenticity to both the physical challenges and the deeper human mission behind the journey."

- Carol Thompson, Readers' Favorite

Publishing Information

Publisher: One Kidney Publishing
Pub date: 2025-11-20
Length: 480 pages

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