Holy cow – this movie was good.
I took my son to this documentary about Alex Hannold, the 33-year-old rock climber who attempts free soloing (climbing with no ropes, no safety harness, no nothing!) El Capitan in Yosemite. Have you seen it?
The thing that I loved most about it was Alex’s utter dedication and commitment to his goal. I left the theater feeling energized It made me want to work harder at my goals – and definitely made me want to hit the gym (those abs!).
I hope 10-year-old Jack got something similar? Hard to tell. These days I get a lot of shrugs and one word answers. How was your day? Good. How is that book? Good. Did you like the movie? It was good.
I feel like I have been giving Jack the same parenting talk for months now – if you want A’s, you need to put the effort in and study. If you want to be good at basketball – you need to practice every day. Talent only takes you so far – you have to work hard. This movie did a much better job at driving this point home than I normally do.
I’m trying to brainstorm some good middle grade books in this same adventure/grit/commitment genre. Boys in the Boat? Hatchet? Banner in the Sky? I would love to hear your suggestions.
P. S. – If you are in Nashville, Free Solo is at the Belcourt all week.
P.P.S. – I was chatting with a friend about the movie, and she said this Nat Geo documentary about a high school science fair was terrific too. It’s on my to-see list!