What if the biggest obstacle between you and your summit isn’t your circumstances—but what you believe about yourself?
That question sits at the heart of my allegorical book, The Summit: Journey to Hero Mountain. It follows a young woman named Mallery, whose name means ill-fated or the unfortunate one. She has dreams she rarely shares, doubts she knows all too well, and no idea whether she has what it takes to reach the summit.
But over the course of her journey, something changes. Through obstacles, choices, setbacks, unexpected discoveries, and a mysterious Band of Hope, Mallery gradually grows into a new name: Andriette—strong and courageous. Her journey may be fictional, but the challenges she encounters are remarkably familiar.
Day 1: The Invitation
Day 2: A Band of Hope
Day 3: The Tangled Forest
The beautiful forest quickly becomes dense and threatening. There are tangled roots, vines—and even a snake. Worse, word has spread back home that Mallery is attempting the summit. Suddenly everyone has an opinion.
Some insist they’re simply concerned about her. Yet beneath their concern is something else: they don’t believe someone like Mallery can succeed. Criticism is familiar territory for her. This time, however, she keeps going.
Growth often requires learning the difference between wise counsel and voices that simply want us to remain who we’ve always been.
Day 4: Learning to Trust
Emerging from the dark forest, Mallery encounters a valley filled with bunker-like hills, mysterious doors, and beautiful keys. Her guide tells her the keys will unlock the gates ahead. But can she trust him?
Trust has never come easily. Her guide challenges her with an uncomfortable possibility: perhaps her problem isn’t that she trusts too little, but that she has been trusting what isn’t trustworthy. That gives her plenty to think about. (Get FREE map downloads: here!)
It gives us something to think about, too. What are we trusting to guide our decisions—fear, approval, past experience, truth, or something deeper?
Day 5: Finding Value in Dark Places
Mallery enters a dim cave carrying a map directing her toward rare gemstones. Why would anything valuable be hidden in such a dark place? It’s a question worth asking beyond the story.
Some of our greatest strengths are discovered in places we would never have chosen to enter. Difficulty can uncover abilities, resilience, perspective, and wisdom that remained hidden when life was easy.
The treasure may have been there all along. The darkness simply forced us to look for it.
Day 6: "I Can't" Becomes "I Can"
Now Mallery faces a chasm. Her instructions? Complete a drawbridge. She has no experience building bridges, few supplies, and plenty of reasons this shouldn’t work. Her immediate response is predictable: I can’t.
Then she remembers what she has already learned and deliberately changes her language: I can. Nothing about the chasm changes. Mallery does.
Growth mindset doesn’t pretend challenges are easy. It changes the question from Can I possibly do this? to What can I learn that will help me take the next step?
Day 7: Building With What You Have
As Mallery progresses, the jewels she discovered begin to serve a purpose. They reveal plans and resources that had previously been hidden. She is learning that what we gather along the journey isn’t always meant to be stored.
Skills, experiences, relationships, knowledge—even difficulties—can become building materials for what comes next.
The question becomes: What are you carrying that could help you build your next bridge?
Day 8: The Land of Allure
Mallery finally crosses the bridge and emerges into light. Then she sees a fascinating town: the Land of Allure. There’s an Idea Factory filled with unfinished projects and endless possibilities. It’s exactly the sort of place that could capture her imagination.
But where are all the workers? Mallery has been warned: Your time is your most valuable possession. Stay on course.
Distraction doesn’t always look destructive. Sometimes it looks wonderfully interesting. The challenge is recognizing the difference between a good opportunity and the right opportunity.
Day 9: The Roundabout
Mallery discovers where everyone has gone: social media. Friendland. TinselCam. Bluebird. Connector. Surely a little more visibility, a few more connections, and some additional validation could help her journey.
Then she finds herself trapped on a roundabout—circling endlessly, unable to find the exit. It’s not particularly subtle as metaphors go!
How easily can we do the same? We stay busy, compare ourselves with others, chase validation, and mistake activity for progress. Sometimes moving beyond requires the resolve to choose an exit.
Day 10: Comparison and the Climb Ahead
Once off the roundabout, Mallery starts comparing. Other people seem to get the big break, promotion, opportunity, or relationship. Why not her? Her thinking becomes a tangle of crossed wires and detours. But journaling has become a daily habit, helping her recognize how far she has already traveled.
Then her guide hands her actual climbing equipment. Wait—she’s really expected to climb a mountain? Mallery is no climber. She doesn’t even like heights.
There comes a point when preparation has to become action.
Day 11: What Are You Willing to Release?
A beautifully crafted cobblestone path leads Mallery toward another destination. She can now imagine possibilities that once seemed absurd—even standing before hundreds of people and confidently sharing her ideas.
Her vision is expanding. But another question appears: Will she have to give up something she has gained in order to go farther?
Moving forward almost always involves choices. We cannot carry every habit, identity, possession, expectation, and goal from one season into the next. Sometimes growth requires release.
Day 12: Is the Summit Really the Goal?
Now Hero Mountain stands before her. Mallery begins questioning everything. Would reaching the summit actually change her life? Would it bring better friends, meaningful work, love, or simply bragging rights? It’s one of the most important realizations of her journey:
The summit itself isn’t the whole point.
Achievement without meaning can leave us standing at the top of the wrong mountain. Mallery must decide not merely whether she can climb, but why she wants to. And then she discovers her Band of Hope is missing.
Just when she needs courage most.
Day 13: Becoming Andriette
Climbing day arrives. But Mallery is no longer Mallery. She has become Andriette.
She has trained, developed skills, contributed to her team, and learned that other people need what she brings. Her ability to sketch climbing positions even helps her teammates improve their performance.
The woman who once wondered whether she had anything worthwhile to offer is now helping others climb. She is still nervous. There are still unknowns. The mountain weather can change quickly. But nervousness has become energy. And she isn’t climbing alone.
Her team has committed to working together and leaving no one stranded on the mountain. The song she once sang alone is now being sung by everyone.
The Summit Was Never Just the Mountain
By the Epilogue, Andriette has reached the summit—but what she gained is far greater than the view. The struggle and persistence changed her.
She is no longer afraid to pursue new possibilities. She has begun letting go of superficial goals and choosing what is real and meaningful instead. The girl who believed she was ill-fated has discovered strength and courage through the journey itself. That may be the most important lesson of The Summit.
Reaching our summit isn’t simply about accomplishing a goal. It’s about who we become on the way there.
We encounter tangled forests. We discover hidden treasures. We build bridges we were certain we couldn’t build. We get distracted by alluring opportunities and occasionally find ourselves circling a roundabout wondering how we got there.
But we keep learning. We keep choosing. We keep climbing.
And eventually, we may discover that the person who reaches the summit is not quite the same person who began the journey. Perhaps that’s the question for each of us:
What is your summit—and who could you become on the way there?
The Summit: Journey to Hero Mountain is available in multiple formats through major book retailers. It was written as an adventure with a deeper message about courage, hope, purpose, and discovering the strength to become who we were created to be. Get The SUMMIT on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/4z3mDIs
Additional Resources
Women at Halftime: Principles for Producing Your Successful Second Half by Deborah Johnson: Will you merely face into the second half of life, operating with a tired and outdated strategy, living on autopilot? Or will you successfully reinvent yourself and climb to your personal peak of Hero Mountain?
Power of After: What’s Next Can be Your Most Purposeful Chapter by Deborah Johnson. This book helps you answer the crucial question, "What's next?" as you create your ideal business using AI and other current technologies.
Stop Circling: Steps to Escape Endless Roundabouts: provides both the inspirational perspective and solid tools to design an individual or professional future path and to get individuals there successfully.
HALFERS Position Free Download
YouTube Channel: Mindset & Mental Strength for Mid-Career Growth
Personalized Mentorship: Thoughtful guidance for your next chapter creating clarity, confidence & momentum.
The Summit book by Deborah Johnson
Goal Setting Worksheets-free download!
Hero Mountain Summit- a 5-month "Power of After" journey to help you answer "What's Next?" with your desired lifestyle & maximized skills and experience.
FREE Resources and links: https://GoalsForYourLife.com/DJWorks
YouTube Podcast Playlist: Women at Halftime/Power of After
Reaching our summit isn’t simply about accomplishing a goal. It’s about who we become on the way there.
deborah johnson
Thought Leader, Keynote Speaker, Author
If you are interested in growing and learning, check out our online courses here: Online Learning
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