i write about medical topics to empower people with information
i write creatively to explore the meaning behind experiences we share
Tap Dancing on Everest
a memoir
"The best ascent of Everest in terms and style of pure adventure." Reinhold Messner
"Ranks with the most remarkable ordeals from which men or woman have returned alive." Lord John Hunt
about mimi.
Mimi Zieman has treated frozen limbs on the highest mountain, delivered triplets near the deepest ocean trench, tap danced through Broadway studios, and has been a suburban mom of three – all experiences that have prepared her for new challenges. Her latest is writing UNGUIDED, about her unlikely journey from New York City girl to the doctor on an Everest expedition in the remote wilds of Tibet.
Her early career as a successful academic at Emory University School of Medicine included the roles of Associate Professor, Director of Medical Students, Founder and Director of a Fellowship in Family Planning, educator, and researcher. With a national reputation, she was a founding member of the scientific Society of Family Planning, and a member of CDC committees that wrote guidelines on U.S. contraceptive care.
She left the structured world of academia to work as an independent consultant and entrepreneur, founding her company, SageMed LLC. Mimi has co-authored sixteen editions of Managing Contraception, with over one million books in circulation, and has provided guidance to programs on a global scale. She is a passionate advocate for women’s rights and has testified before the Georgia Legislature several times against bills that have no basis in science.
A popular medical speaker, she has lectured nationally and internationally, and has been interviewed by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Chicago Tribune, Cosmopolitan, Brides, Redbook, Glamour, Fitness, Esquire, Good Day Atlanta, CNN, WSB-TV, Fox news, Georgia week in review, UPN-Atlanta, and Radio stations WSB –750 and WRAS.
Far from her New York City roots, home base is Atlanta, with no high mountain or deep ocean in sight, where she doesn’t eat grits, biscuits, or collards, and must navigate ten lane highways. But she’s grown to love Southern hospitality, her community of friends, and the canopy of trees which keeps her grounded.
Tap Dancing on Everest
A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure
by mimi zieman, md
The plan was outrageous: A small team of four climbers would attempt a new route on the East Face of Mt. Everest, considered the most remote and dangerous side of the mountain and only successfully climbed once before. Unlike the first larger team, Mimi Zieman's team would climb without using supplemental oxygen, porter support, or chance for rescue. She would accompany the climbers as the doctor--and only woman
--although she was still in her third year of medical school. Full of self-doubt, Zieman grappled with whether to go but couldn't resist the call of the mountains. On Everest, when three climbers disappeared during their summit attempt, she reached the knife edge of her limits and dug deeply to fight for the climbers' lives and to find her voice.
Sparkling with suspense and vulnerability, Tap Dancing on Everest is a coming-of-age story about the risks we take to become our truest selves. Zieman weaves her childhood as the daughter of immigrants raised in 1970's New York City, her father a Holocaust survivor, with adventure and medicine, capturing the curiosity and awe of a young woman as she faces down messages to stay small and safe and ventures into the unknown.
“Tap Dancing on Everest” is gorgeous. It is so full of joy, zest and fun and yet with some profound thoughts. Once started you cannot put it down. I hope it is a huge success – it certainly deserves to be."
- Sir Chris Bonington
Everest the Hard Way, knighted for his services to mountaineering
“Tap Dancing on Everest is that rare book that manages to capture the adrenaline rush of a thrilling adventure and the gut-wrenching pathos of an epic tragedy. Mimi Zieman is telling a story that readers will be unable to put down—not just about life and death on the world’s most dangerous mountain, but about how we, as human beings, too often have to put ourselves in extreme danger to feel fully alive. I was utterly captivated by this story. You will be, too.”
- Steve Almond
All the Secrets of the World
“The best ascent of Everest in terms and style of pure adventure.”
- Reinhold Messner
The first man to solo Everest
“With a poetic vision that is staggering in its honesty and beauty, Mimi Zieman brings readers into the heart of a Himalayan ascent, guiding us along some of the unexpected pathways that intense adventures can trace in both body and mind.”
- Katie Ives
Imaginary Peaks: The Riesenstein Hoax and Other Mountain Dreams
“Mimi Zieman’s book is an ideal alchemy of grit and grace. The lessons Zieman learns on the mountain are important lessons for us all. A wild and deeply satisfying journey.”
- Emily Rapp Black
The Still Point of The Turning World
“Mimi Zieman is brave, tough, and impressive when on Everest, and lively, engaging, and funny when on the page. After returning from her climb, she says she was “very grateful for ceilings.” I myself, am grateful for her vivid recounting of all her journeys.”
- Meg Wolitzer
The Interestings
Pre-Order Now
Release date April 2, 2024
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