When Vanessa O'Brien was made redundant in 2008 as part of the recession, she moved to Hong Kong with her husband for his career and resigned herself to being 'just the wife'. There she was, aged 46, bored, uninspired, unemployed. Was this going to be how she was going to live the rest of her life?

One night in the infamous Kee Club, over shots of tequila, a friend suggested Vanessa climb Everest, and that was the start of an epic journey she never looked back from.

Join the record-breaking mountain climber in conversation as she marks the publication of To the Greatest Heights, which takes its readers on an extraordinary adventure around the world. In this special event, Vanessa will reveal the trials and tribulations of her difficult childhood, the strength and determination needed to set two Guinness World Records – the first in 2017 by climbing the highest peak on every continent in 295 days (the fastest time by a woman), and the second for becoming the first woman to reach the Earth’s highest and lowest points – and holding her own in the intensely competitive world of mountaineering.

With heart and humour, Vanessa shares her inspirational story, showing us that there is a path to overcoming the worst of what happens to us – a path that helps us reach the summit of our lives too, whatever our age. This promises to be a truly life-affirming evening.